I am burdened by ‘the star son’ tag: Ranbir Kapoor

Actor Ranbir Kapoor feels strained by the tag of `star son` and wants to carve out his own identity which would make his parents feel proud of him.

Born in a family of cine-stars, Ranbir, the grandson of legendary Raj Kapoor and son of veteran actors Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, wants to create his own identity.

“I want people to recognise me by my work. I am burdened by this tag called `the star son`. People say I got everything easily, yes, I got my first film easily because people were curious about me. After that I have worked hard, experienced things. It is important to make an identity of my own,” Ranbir said.

“My parents feel very proud when somebody calls them Ranbir Kapoor`s parents. Every father and mother wants that for their child. I hope that I make them proud and carry forward the legacy of my family in my own distinct way,” he said.

Ranbir`s father Rishi Kapoor has created a new image with his performances of Rauf Lala in `Agneepath` remake, as Yoginder Vashisht in `Student of the year`, as an underworld don Goldman in `D Day` and others.

“He has made me realise one thing that stars fade and actors always remain. This is his second career as a character actor. The biggest thing is to have excitement and passion even at this age,” he said.

Ranbir shared screen space for the first time with his parents in `Besharam` and found it intimidating to work with them, especially his father.

“I was very scared about how I will work with him (Rishi). I have never looked into my father`s eyes till now. I had to call him `mote`, `dharti pe bhoj`, I was like how will I say that. He gave me courage and never made me feel uncomfortable. I am very scared of him. But on a film set he becomes the character,” he said.

“He has always been my favourite actor and now I finally got a chance to work with him. I can finally tell my children that I have worked with your grandfather,” Ranbir said.

Ranbir is amazed that even after working for 40 years, his
father is still excited and passionate about working.

Talking about his soon-to-be-released film `Besharam`, Ranbir says there is action, comedy, romance, everything in the film but at the heart of it, it is a good story.

With this film, Ranbir is getting into the commercial space where actors like Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar have created a foothold.

“I think it is a very hard genre. When you do films like `Rockstar`, `Barfi!`, `Wake up Sid`, there is certain understanding, you work on a certain character. While when you are playing a larger than life character then it becomes a bit difficult to do,” he said.

“It was hard but as an actor it`s important to challenge yourself. I don`t know, the audience might just hate me, hate the film but I think the risk factor of it is very important. I am trying a different genre, hoping I would be successful in it,” Ranbir added.

Releasing on October 2, `Besharam` is directed by `Dabangg` director Abhinav Kashyap and also stars Pallavi Sharda.

PTI