Did you know Ranbir Kapoor auditioned for Mira Nair’s political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist?

Ranbir Kapoor, who belongs to the most respected and revered Kapoor family of Bollywood, began his acting career with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya in 2007. The romantic drama also provided a launchpad to yet another star child, Sonam Kapoor, who is the elder daughter of evergreen Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor.

Saawariya, which clashed with Farah Khan’s directorial debut Om Shanti Om (2007) at the box office, did not meet the high expectations of the audience and turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Om Shanti Om, on the other hand, had great pre-release buzz going around it and for all the right reasons. The film featured superstar Shah Rukh Khan opposite debutante Deepika Padukone whose charm and beauty had already enamoured millions thanks to a couple of music videos she had done before venturing into films.

Though Saawariya did not set the cash registers jingling at the ticket counter, Ranbir Kapoor did manage to win people’s hearts with his boyish charm and great looks. Film enthusiasts were convinced that he had everything in him to take the great cinematic legacy of his family forward provided he chose the right scripts.

The young actor just did that and scored his first success with his next release Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), which was followed by a string of hits and superhits including Wake Up Sid (2009), Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), and Raajneeti (2010).

In 2011, Kapoor delivered one of his career’s best performances as Jordan in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. Again, the film was not a massive money-spinner but has gained cult status over the years thanks to Kapoor’s searing performance powered by AR Rahman’s incredible music score and Irshad Kamil’s beautiful lyrics.

In 2012, Kapoor scored yet another blockbuster in Anurag Basu’s Barfi (2012) which was even selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85^th Academy Awards.

The very same year, Ranbir Kapoor also auditioned for internationally acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair’s film The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). Unfortunately, the actor failed to bag the plum part in the high-profile international project. Nair wanted to cast someone who has had experienced many worlds and Kapoor was lacking in that department. The role finally went to the renowned British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed who fitted the bill perfectly. He had everything that Nair wanted in her hero.

Anyway, Ranbir Kapoor did not take that rejection to heart and worked extremely hard on his Bollywood projects. In 2013, he toplined Dharma Productions’ Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, which emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of all time.

The actor was last seen in Sanju (2018), a biographical drama chronicling the eventful life of controversial Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film broke several box-office records during its theatrical run. His upcoming line-up includes several high-profile films, including Yash Raj Films’ Shamshera, Dharma Productions’ Brahmastra and an untitled film with hit filmmaker Luv Ranjan.

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