When Ranbir Kapoor recalled Raj Kapoor’s stardom in Russia: ‘Mob lifted his car and carried it to the hotel’

Ranbir Kapoor revealed that he was the first male member of his family to pass school without failing. He recalled, “I was a bad student. I was among the last three in the class, but I never failed. I always managed to pass the year. I got 54.3% in my 10th standard. I was in New York at that time and my father was directing the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen. My mom was in Mumbai and she called me crying. She couldn’t believe that I passed the 10th grade. Because I was the first male member of my family to have passed school without failing. I remember my grandmother, uncles and father were in New York and they were jubilant.”

When asked about the disadvantages of coming from a film family, Ranbir responded, “I don’t like the tag of being called a star son. Yes I got the opportunity early and I grew up in a luxurious background, but in the last few years, I have really worked hard to earn a name for myself.”

Ranbir Kapoor was also reminded that he doesn’t just come from any film family but from the first film family of the industry. Speaking about this, he said, “I feel responsible for that. I don’t take it for granted. I’m not arrogant about that. I want to make my family proud, but I am here for myself and to make a name for myself and not be called Raj Kapoor‘s grandson or Rishi Kapoor’s son. I want my father to be known by my name.”

Ranbir also shared his idea of stardom and instantly recalled his grandfather Raj Kapoor’s popularity in Russia. He compared how the stardom he or other actors of his generation experience is fleeting compared to the kind of fame and glory his grandfather witnessed.

Recalling the incident, the actor said, “When he went to Russia for the premiere of Awaara, he came out of the theatre, and there was a huge mob of Russians waiting to see him and he went and sat in his car. And you won’t believe, all these people carried his car and took him to the hotel. That’s another kind of stardom. The stardom that we see is so short-lived because there will be another heartthrob after you go. But what these guys have done is permanently etched in people’s minds.”