Terming himself a ‘product of nepotism’, Ranbir Kapoor said he was always aware of the perks of being born into a film family but lineage never guarantees success.
Ranbir, part of the fourth generation of the illustrious Kapoor family, said he had to develop an individualistic approach and prove his talent independently to sustain in the industry.
“I’m a product of nepotism and I got it very easy in my life but I always had to work hard because I realised that I come from a family like this and if I don’t have an individualistic approach and if I don’t make a name for myself, I’ll not succeed in the film industry. You guys celebrate a lot of success of my family but there are a lot of failures also, and as much as you learn from the success, you learn from the failure also,” the 43-year-old actor said.
Son of actors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor, the Bombay Velvet actor was speaking at a session, titled Tribute to legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt, during the Celebrate Cinema 2025 festival at filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s film institute Whistling Woods. “What do I feel about being born in this family, for me it was like any other normal family, I didn’t know any better,” said Kapoor.
Known for movies such as Wake Up Sid, Rockstar, Barfi, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, and Animal, Ranbir said he learnt pretty early in his life that filmmaking is a team effort. “Filmmaking is not dictatorship, it’s a marriage of so many people and artists coming together, and believing in something, and believing in inspiring people,” he said, recalling the words of his great-grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor. “What he said moved me deeply – ‘Kala desh ki seva mein.’ So whatever you can do, do it to inspire the next generation. If you can do that then there’s nothing greater than that,” he added.
Ranbir Kapoor will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, in which he shares screen space with his actress wife Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. He also has Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana lined up for release next year, in which he portrays Lord Rama and Yash plays Ravana. While Love & War releases on March 20 on Eid, Ramayana Part 1 hits theatres on Diwali 2026.