Ranbir Kapoor has often spoken about his complicated yet deeply influential relationship with his late father, Rishi Kapoor. While Ranbir grew up with a father who was often critical of his work, his childhood friend Abhishek Bachchan shared a different equation with his father, Amitabh Bachchan. During a recent appearance on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 18’, hosted by Amitabh, Ranbir opened up about the Kapoor family’s approach to parenting, recalled some stories about his father and grandfather Raj Kapoor, and discussed how Amitabh handled Abhishek’s career and personal life.Amitabh, who shared screen space with Rishi Kapoor in films such as ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, asked Ranbir about the advice his father would give him regarding his film choices. Recalling how Rishi reacted to his performances, Ranbir said, “When papa used to watch my films, he was never happy with my choices and characters. He wasn’t able to understand my type of films – Tamasha, Wake Up Sid, Barfi, Rocket Singh.”Explaining the reason behind his father’s critical approach, Ranbir brought up a saying by his great-grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor. “My great grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor said a line once, ‘Art in the service of the nation’. So, my father used to ask me about ‘which nation I was serving? Are these films for Tier 1 or who?’ At that time, I didn’t realise what he was trying to say. As an actor, I was following an individualistic approach naturally. I was just doing the characters I understood.”
Ranbir recalls a story about Raj Kapoor and Prithviraj Kapoor
Ranbir then shared an anecdote from a book about his grandfather Raj Kapoor, written by his aunt Ritu Nanda. He revealed that Raj Kapoor, too, had once expressed disappointment over never receiving appreciation from his father, Prithviraj Kapoor.“I read a story in my grandfather Raj Kapoor’s book, which was written by my aunty Ritu Nanda. He went to Prithviraj Kapoor and asked, ‘Your son is a star today and is achieving so much. You never praised me or patted my back’. So, Prithviraj Kapoor told him a story,” he said.Narrating the story, Ranbir explained, “There was a young boy who performed a balancing act on a rope on the street. The crowd used to come, applaud, cheer, and give him money. When the act ended, the boy used to go to his father and ask, ‘How was it?’ He’d always say, ‘There’s room for improvement’. This kept happening for years.”He continued, “Then one day, years later, he asked his father, ‘I do so well and I get so much praise, then why do you say that? He said, ‘Son, the day I start praising you, your goal and focus will vanish and you’ll get lost in praise’. I think that’s the tradition. I now understand why dad always used to say something was lacking, so that I can work harder and be able to carry our family’s legacy forward.”
Ranbir asks Amitabh Bachchan about his equation with Abhishek
The conversation then shifted to parenting, with Ranbir asking Amitabh how he approached giving feedback to Abhishek about his professional choices. Recalling his own experience, he said his father would often communicate through his mother rather than address him directly.“I have grown up with Abhishek. Whenever you felt something about Abhishek, whether good or bad, could you go and tell him directly or did you talk through Jaya ji. Because my father spoke through my mother. What was your approach?” he asked.Responding to the question, Amitabh explained that he consciously chose not to become another person criticising his son. “There are already millions of people out there waiting to criticise. It doesn’t feel right to have another critic at home. I never criticised. I only blessed him. ‘Its alright if a movie doesn’t work, you’ll do more movies and you’ll get more work’. I spoke to him, blessed him, but never criticised him. People like Abhishek feel that they should be criticised, because criticism helps them understand what we are doing right or wrong, and we get the bandwidth to correct a mistake. I never told him that he did this or that wrong,” the veteran actor said.
Ranbir remembers Amitabh making time for Abhishek
Ranbir also recalled conversations with Abhishek about his childhood and the efforts Amitabh made to be present during important moments in his son’s life. He brought up the time Abhishek was studying in Switzerland and how Amitabh would travel there despite his demanding work schedule.“Abhishek always used to tell me that when he was studying in Switzerland and you were so busy with work. But, whenever he had an important event in his life, like school’s basketball game,” Ranbir recalled.He further explained, “You used to fly there just to watch the game, and then take a flight to go back directly to the studio after two hours. I feel you made sincere efforts back then. The relationship of a father and son used to be distant in that era, but Abhishek always used to tell me that his father has always found time for the significant parts of his kids’ life, no matter how busy he is,” Ranbir said.During the interaction, Ranbir also made a heartfelt confession about Amitabh and his late father, revealing that they were the only two people he found difficult to look in the eye while speaking.He said, “I want to say that only two people have entered my life whom I cannot look in the eye while speaking. One was my father, and the other is you.”Surprised by his statement, Amitabh asked, “What are you saying?” Ranbir then recalled his childhood visit to the sets of ‘Ajooba’, adding, “I have grown up in front of you, but during my childhood, when I came on the shooting of Ajooba… you had even posted that photo on your social media.”
About ‘Ramayana’
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and backed by Namit Malhotra and actor Yash, ‘Ramayana’ is a two-part mythological epic. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.The film has reportedly earned over Rs 17.13 crore through advance bookings in India, five days ahead of its theatrical release.