Moving out was my mother’s idea: Ranbir Kapoor

Do you think Katrina and you are the greatest victims of new age media?
Yes. The paparazzi culture has only grown in India in the past couple of years. Of course, we are actors and people want to know about our lives. There are a lot of rumours, and yes, it gets too much at times. But I can’t escape it. With camera phones, everyone is paparazzo. If you are an actor, people will click. It’s hard because there are very few places remaining in the world where you can enjoy your privacy. However, we are so very grateful for everything else, that we can’t be sitting and complaining and behaving like victims. The media gives us a lot too, they put us on a pedestal. So we really shouldn’t cry about it.

The repeated conjectures about your life have created this mystery around you. And you have also refrained from social networking, that usually helps one clarify matters…
That’s the endeavour — to create a mystery because it’s dying anyway. Why should I be on a platform 24/7? I want to build a mystery around me, so that people don’t get bored of me, and so that they don’t make too many harsh judgements because of what they are reading in the newspapers. Secondly, I don’t think I have the freedom of speech, because whatever I say will be interpreted in a 100 different ways. And then I’ll have to clarify those. So why invite extra headaches? I hope people love me for the work I do and not for what they read in the papers.

You father Rishi Kapoor has been creating waves with his Twitterpresence…
I have seen that side of his all my life. He is extremely funny and in tune with what’s happening in the world. He has a lot to say about life because he has had that kind of exposure. The world, through Twitter, can now see a very different side to my father. It’s a side I already know, as me and my mother discuss his tweets at home. Initially, we were scared because he is a very straightforward man and what he says can offend people. But then he is what he is and you can’t stop him.

He says he misses you a lot now. How has your relationship been with him ever since you moved out?
I miss my father as much as he misses me. I have lived in that house for 30 years. But it’s also a little exaggerated, what he’s saying. I meet him every two days and it’s a temporary shift, because we are making a bigger house, where eventually all of us will be staying together. Moving out was not my idea, it was my mother’s. She said it was important for me to become my own person, because in that house I would always be a boy. I needed to grow up and make that transition into a man, feel responsible, have my own house. The way it was portrayed in the media it was more soap opera-ish. It was really not as bad.

How have things changed for you?
I think I am friendlier with my father now and I meet my parents more often. When you are home you don’t meet them and you take it for granted. You remain in your own room, in your own world. Now I make it a point to meet them, have a meal with them, share my life with them and know what’s happening in their lives. So yes, I feel more responsible and grown up, coming into my own. It was very important for me to feel that.

Coming to Bombay Velvet, you have given a lot to how the film looks today, nearly broke your back while practicing mixed martial arts. Your thoughts?
Today everyone’s got to do that. The quality of films that are coming out, the evolved audience makes it vital for us to work very hard. Bombay Velvet is not like anything I had done. People see me as this romantic urban city boy. Working in an Anurag Kashyap film is a challenge, marry his mind, channelise what he is saying. That’s my process with every film actually. With Besharam, however, we were arrogant. We thought if we add four songs, one action scene, we could take the audience for granted. That was an important lesson learnt. You can’t take them for granted. And you can’t do the cinema that Akshay Kumar or SRK and Salman do, because they have a distinct body of work and a fan following. I need to build that trust with the audience. I understand Besharam killed that trust a bit. There is the pressure to prove myself again. It’s good because you are constantly on your toes, insecure, pushing your boundaries. If you are cocky and arrogant, there is no room for growth.

There have been many nasty rumours and some negativity associated with Bombay Velvet. Does that bother you?
Of course you feel sad about it. You are working so hard and your intentions are correct. But I guess the only way to combat that is with a good content. Negativity can surround something one hasn’t seen. Once the film is out, it’s for the people to judge. In a way it’s good because it kills expectations and people see it with an open mind. For the kind of person Anurag is, making a high budget film with established actors is a challenge. My last film Besharam was a disaster, so now people are wondering if I will deliver.

You appear unaffected by success and failure. How do you look at a Friday?
Friday is exciting because you either get 100 messages on your phone complimenting your work or no messages come at all. When there are no messages, you have a sense of fear, insecurity creeps in, but I think it dies down really fast. Next day I have to go back to work on my next film and do better. I am quite detached, that’s my personality. I have not cultivated myself to be that way. That’s how I am. Also I have grown up around films and I understand the fragile nature of success or the heartbreak of failures.