Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor: former lovers working together can be an amazing thing

Dubai: Shah Rukh Khan is Bollywood’s No 1 charmer, but on Thursday tabloid! found his heir apparent.

Meet Ranbir Kapoor, who sold the idea that ex-lovers working together can be an “amazing thing”. He stars alongside his former girlfriend Deepika Padukone in next week’s release Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani.

“I don’t want to sound like a love guru. It’s a notion in your head that it can get awkward. Working with your ex can be an amazing thing,” said Kapoor during a packed press conference at Dubai’s Grand Hyatt.

But his belief comes attached with a string. “You need to have closure in your head. You both have to reach the kind of understanding that what you shared was special and that you all have moved on. Once you have that, rest is easy,” said Kapoor.

Clearly, there was no bad blood between the couple who split in 2010 after several high-profile public appearances together.

“Deepika has grown immensely as an actor in the last few years. She added so much more to the movie. But when I choose a movie, I look at it as a package,” said Kapoor.
Padukone may not have been in person to second his opinion but she told tabloid! over the phone that she agreed with him.

“I’m so disappointed that I couldn’t be there in Dubai, one of my favourite places,” Padukone said. “But I hope the others made up for my absence. Like Ranbir said, both need to have reached a point where they have moved on”.

Accompanying Kapoor in Dubai was his co-stars Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur, who play his best pals in the film. Surprisingly, their camaraderie wasn’t limited to the big screen.

“This whole film was like a long fun road trip. We went on long treks every day, waded through snow, hung out with each other for nearly a year,” said Koechlin about the film shooting in the snow-covered mountains of Manali in Himachal Pradesh. “We know each other so well now – even each other’s darkest R-rated secrets, which we can’t share today,” grinned Koechlin. 

She even had endearing labels for her colleagues. While Kapoor reminded her of the adorable cartoon character Bambi (the deer), Kapur was the quintessential “caveman” who was on a perennial hunt for survival.

“Ranbir was like Bambi. He was a bit lost though and needed looking after, while Kapur was always hunting for food, water and shelter. Deepika was like Mother Earth, she had that extra blanket, extra bottle of water and always packed sandwiches for us,” said Koechlin.

Kapoor, who is riding high after Barfi!, was quick to add the word “caring” as ex-flame Padukone’s name cropped up, eliciting “aaws” from the room dominated by women.
Later in the day, the charming trio whipped up fan frenzy at the Oasis Centre on Shaikh Zayed Road. They stuck to the tradition of being tardy, turning up 90 minutes late. But the hundreds who thronged the mall forgot about the delay as soon as Kapoor shouted “I love you Dubai”.

While chants of “Ranbir” became deafening, Kapoor was caught up between hysterical fans and aggressive bouncers. But he took it all in his stride, throwing movie merchandise, such as t-shirts, to the eager fans.

“Thank you Dubai for such love,” he said, before inviting a young fan to dance with him.
Read the full interview in tabloid! soon.