'I want my father to be known by my name': Ranbir Kapoor once said he is not here to be called Raj Kapoor's grandson or the 'star son'

Ranbir Kapoor once opened up about life in a film family, saying he doesn’t like being called a ‘star son’ or Raj Kapoor’s grandson. The actor also shared how he has worked hard to make a name for himself.

Challenges of being from a film family

Talking to TBIP about the challenges of being from a film family, Ranbir said, “I don’t like being called a star son. Yes, I had opportunities early and grew up in a comfortable life, but in recent years, I’ve worked hard to make a name for myself.”





He further shared, “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.”

School life and strict upbringing

Ranbir also spoke about his school life in the same interview. He said, “They don’t treat you differently in school, but you do realise that you are somewhere special among the 40 students. They are more curious about you. But over a period of time when you have grown up with them, like 10 years in school… they get used to it.” He added, “I went to Bombay Scottish. It was a very strict kind of convent school, I got beaten up a lot by the principal. Once he slapped my face from one corridor of the school to another, held my head, turned me the other way, and then slapped me on the way back.”



Elaborating further, he added, “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 percent 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.”

On stardom and his grandfather’s legacy

Ranbir also spoke about his view of stardom, recalling his grandfather Raj Kapoor’s immense popularity in Russia. He noted that the fame he and other actors of his generation experience is much more fleeting compared to the lasting fame his grandfather enjoyed.



Recalling the incident, he shared, “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.”

On the work front, he will next be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Love and War' with Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. He will also be seen in Ramayana with Sai Pallavi, Yash, Sunny Deol and others.