Ranbir Kapoor belongs to the era of the globetrotting consumer, acquainted with all the good things in life. He carries this in his very aura, slipping in and out of different style profiles with the ease of a worldclass chameleon ­ be it a classic suit or a flared achkan coat by friend and neighbour Arjun Khanna. Put him even in the gaudy, multi-hued wardrobe of his character in his first commercial hit, 2008's Bachna Ae Haseeno, and Ranbir had the girls swooning over him. Whatever the repercussions of his experiments, Ranbir continues to be a sensitive, forward-thinking, methodical actor, who is not shy of his star value. Even before he had any screen history, the actor was far from complacent about do ing justice to the Kapoor legacy. “If I wouldn't have made it as an actor, I'd have still liked to work in the movies, as a producer or a film director," he shrugs, rather matter-of factly.

A student of Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, New York, when asked about method acting in the masala milieu of Bollywood, he says, “See, Lee Strasberg is about method acting and you cannot use that unless you have practiced it for at least 10 years or above. One of its principles is, when enacting a scene, you think of a similar scene in your own life. You rely on sense memories, involving touch and smell ­ something about your life that defined that moment. Method acting is a huge canvas, because to each character, there is a lot of layered subtext. I personally feel a margin of spontaneity is also a big part of being an actor. It's a balance you strike." And this is truly endemic to his performances today.
Ranbir's trump card is that he refuses to get complacent. He shares, “When my father was an actor, there weren't many trained actors around. A lot of people became actors by default. But today, the competition is on a totally different level; every week there's a new actor or director doing well, so you have to be far more prepared, far more clearly briefed. You need more exposure to the media, to the people in the business, to every aspect of filmmaking. It's not just about how you look, build your body, put on make-up, or dance. And even at that level, you have to be super fit, a great dancer, and a great actor.“

He is now, officially, the 150-crore blockbuster star, though he has seen his fair share of flops too. That, however, has not deterred him to go for roles that challenge him. It's this confidence that separates him from his peers.

As his father, seasoned actor Rishi Kapoor, has noted, “Today's heroes should be on the razor's edge; like Ranbir is. How many actors would risk their careers to do films like Rocket Singh ­ Salesman Of The Year, Wake Up Sid, Rock star or Barfi!? Thankfully, his choices are working and audiences are waiting to see what Ranbir's doing next."

We all are.