Ranbir Kapoor was born into one of Hindi cinema’s most famous families, but when he eventually stepped into Bollywood, he did not simply walk onto a film set as an actor. There was work behind the scenes first.
Long before Saawariya made him a leading man in 2007, Ranbir explored filmmaking and worked as an assistant director. One of the most significant stops in those early years was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black, where he worked behind the camera before Bhansali eventually launched him as the lead of Saawariya.
That makes their professional association particularly interesting in hindsight. Years after Saawariya, Ranbir and Bhansali reunited for Love & War, also starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.
Ranbir Kapoor Worked Behind The Camera Before Becoming A Star
Ranbir’s early exposure to filmmaking was not limited to his family. He studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in New York and later returned to Mumbai, where he began learning the craft from within film sets. His work as an assistant director gave him a look at the filmmaking process before he faced the camera himself. It also meant that his first association with Bhansali came before he was officially introduced as an actor.
His debut, however, was not an immediate blockbuster. Saawariya, released in 2007, marked both Ranbir’s and Sonam Kapoor’s acting debuts. The film did not deliver the expected box-office success, but Ranbir’s performance established him as a newcomer worth watching.
From Star Kid To One Of Bollywood’s Most Discussed Actors
What followed was a career that moved through very different genres and characters. Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, Rajneeti, Rockstar, Barfi!, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Tamasha and Sanju gradually established a range that went well beyond his Kapoor surname. His career then took another turn with Brahmastra and Animal, with the latter becoming one of his biggest commercial releases.
Now, as Ranbir turns 44, he has another unusually ambitious phase ahead. He is set to appear in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, while Animal Park is also among his much-discussed upcoming projects. NDTV reported ahead of his birthday that Ramayana and Love & War are among his next major releases.
The interesting part of Ranbir Kapoor’s story, perhaps, is that Bollywood did not begin with his debut. He started by learning how films were made before becoming the person audiences came to watch.