Ranveer Kapoor

Biography

Ranbir Kapoor (pronounced [ɾəɳˈbiːɾ kəˈpuːɾ], born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Hindi cinema and has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards.

The son of actors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, and the grandson of actor-director Raj Kapoor, Kapoor pursued filmmaking and method acting at the School of Visual Arts and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, respectively. 

He subsequently assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the film Black (2005) and made his acting debut with Bhansali's tragic romance Saawariya (2007), a critical and commercial failure. He rose to prominence with the coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid, the romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (both 2009), and the political drama Raajneeti (2010).

Kapoor's performances as a troubled musician in Rockstar (2011) and a cheerful deaf-and-mute man in Barfi! (2012) earned him two consecutive Filmfare Awards for Best Actor. The romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) further established him as a star. This was followed by a series of commercial failures, with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) and Sanju (2018) being the exceptions. 

The latter emerged as his highest-grossing release, and his portrayal of Sanjay Dutt in it won him another Filmfare Award. Following a hiatus, he starred in the top-grossing fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) and in the romantic comedy Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (2023).

In addition to his acting career, Kapoor supports charities and causes. He is also a co-owner of the Indian Super League football team Mumbai City FC. He is married to the actress Alia Bhatt, with whom he has a daughter.

Ranbir Kapoor was born on 28 September 1982 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India to Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, both actors of the Hindi film industry. He is the great-grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor and the grandson of actor-director Raj Kapoor. His elder sister, Riddhima (born 1980), is an interior and fashion designer. 

The actor Randhir Kapoor is his uncle, and his daughters, actresses Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, are his first cousins. Kapoor is of Punjabi descent, born to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. He was educated at the Bombay Scottish School. As a student, he found little interest in academics and would rank low among his peers. However, he has stated that he performed better in sports, particularly football.

Kapoor with his parents Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh Kapoor at the reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in 2012

Kapoor has been vocal about how his parents' troubled marriage affected him as a child: "Sometimes the fights would get really bad. I would be sitting on the steps, my head between my knees, till five or six in the morning, waiting for them to stop". 

These experiences led to a "reservoir of emotions building up inside [him]", which he said compelled him to develop an interest in film. In his early years, Kapoor was close to his mother, but had a dysfunctional relationship with his father. After completing his tenth standard examinations, he worked as an assistant director to his father on the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999), during which he developed a closer bond with him.

After completing his pre-university education at the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Kapoor relocated to New York City to learn filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts and subsequently pursued method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. 

In film school, Kapoor directed and starred in two short films, entitled Passion to Love and India 1964. The loneliness of living alone in New York City coupled with his experience in film school, which he described as "useless", inspired him to pursue a career in Bollywood. Upon returning to Mumbai, Kapoor was hired as an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the 2005 film Black. 

He described the experience: “I was getting beaten up, abused, doing everything from cleaning the floor to fixing the lights from 7 am to 4 am, but I was learning every day.” He later remarked that his motive for working on Black was to get Bhansali to offer him an acting job.