Ranbir Kapoor: The new superstar

Ever since the second coming of newbie director Ayan Mukerji and Ranbir Kapoor was announced,the anticipation around the film has been tremendous. After all,their first film,Wake Up Sid had been received rather well.

However,Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani goes a step further than Wake Up Sid in that it takes an urbane personal story garnished with a few filmi frills—a lavish Udaipur wedding,a trek in breathtaking Kashmir,Madhuri Dixit Nene in a song— and voila! What you have is one of the biggest grosser for this year (so far).

All this,in a story which is essentially an inward journey that involves seeking and finding one’s own self,but for a competent creative team,could have easily spun out of control.

And it is in this marvellous ability to mix up elements of both masala and multiplex cinema,that the young Kapoor-Mukerji duo establishes its smarts. That they had the much experienced Karan Johar,maker of that other eternal love story,Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,as their producer helped their cause manifold.

Yet another masterstroke was the film’s casting. While there was talk of Katrina Kaif or Anushka Sharma playing Naina’s part,getting Deepika Padukone on board was a brilliant move.

The last film that generated as much interest in its cast would have to be Silsila with Big B,Jaya Bachchan and Rekha sharing screen space.

Deepika’s easy chemistry with Ranbir,besides her convincing performance (which is certainly getting better with every film) and the latter’s competent role-play ensured that the film stayed firmly on track.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani may have had its flaws (most viewers found it 10 minutes too long) but as far as love stories go,its heart is in the right place. Kudos to the young team for trotting out a film that has crossed the Rs.100 crore mark within the first week itself!

Over the last five years,any film starring Ranbir Kapoor,has become something to be looked forward to –his flair for lifting a plain vanilla character/film way off the ground,and set it soaring is well known.

However,with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,we get a glimpse of a budding strategist quite in the league of Aamir Khan; a skillful actor now planning his moves towards super stardom. After all,only an actor who can pull off a grand weekend opening for solo-hero film,qualifies for the coveted tag.

Ranbir Kapoor has often mentioned that he wants to be both a great actor and the biggest star. This film is certainly a step in that direction. Its first day collection of Rs.19 crore and weekend collection of around Rs. 61 crore hints at the inevitable—Ranbir,perhaps the only one of his generation,has taken that quantum leap and landed himself the prized membership to the big boy’s club.

Truly a coming of age film,this.