By Palash Srivastava

New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, who started his acting journey in 2007 with the film 'Saawariya', is currently one of the most sought-after actors of Bollywood. Following critically acclaimed performances in films like Sanju and Animal, audiences and fans are eagerly anticipating his upcoming high-budget projects, including 'Ramayana', 'Love & War', and 'Animal Park'.

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Ranbir, the son of late actor Rishi Kapoor, is set to headline some of the most highly anticipated Hindi films in the upcoming months and years. After the blockbuster success of 'Animal' in 2023, he will next be seen in 'Ramayana', starring alongside Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. He will then step into the grandeur of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama 'Love & War', featuring an ensemble cast that includes Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.

In fact, not just fans and moviegoers, film trade experts are also eagerly awaiting to see how Ranbir Kapoor's upcoming projects perform at the box office. Renowned Film Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh describes the upcoming phase of Ranbir Kapoor as a "fantastic" period in the career of the actor.

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In an interview with ANI, Adarsh said, "The way he (Ranbir Kapoor) is moving right now, the way he is flying right now, I should say, is only at the top because when you look at his body of work in the past and the coming films, starting with Ramayana, which is a very important project because it's going to be a global release in a very wide way. Then he has Love and War and Ramayana 2 coming in. I think it's going to be a fantastic period ahead for Ranbir Kapoor."

Sumit Kadel, the film trade analyst, predicts a major change in the star ranking in Bollywood if Ranbir's upcoming movies "click big time." The film critic estimates a combined business of Rs 10,000 crore worldwide if Ramayana Part I and Part II become successful at the box office.

"If Ramayana, Animal Park, Love and War click big time, then he will dethrone Shah Rukh Khan from the number one position in the star ranking because all his upcoming films are huge. I assume that Ramayana part one and part two can do a combined business of 10,000 crores worldwide," said Sumit Kadel.

This confidence of critics and producers in Ranbir Kapoor stems from the actor's diverse range of roles in the films. From his stunning physical transformation in 'Sanju' to donning the soulful character of Jordan in 'Rockstar' and intensely violent, rugged avatar in the 2023 drama 'Animal', Ranbir has consistently executed his roles to near-perfect execution while effortlessly adapting to the different genres of Bollywood.

"He is one actor who can fit into any character, fit into any role, and he would give it his 100%, and it would really look very believable on the screen also. I distinctly remember when there was an official announcement of Ranbir Kapoor portraying Sanjay Dutt in Sanju. A lot of people said, 'How? I mean, those are two different, contrasting personalities. How would Ranbir, he doesn't even look like him.' But the way he did it, the way he portrayed it, it was outstanding. He was so good in it," said Taran Adarsh.

He added, "When you're doing an Animal and then switching over to Ramayana, and then you're going on to the next film, Love and War, which is a period film, just see the range of that actor."

However, the critics also believe that Bollywood, at the end of the day, is a business driven by the returns on investment (ROI) for producers who carefully invest hundreds of crores into making a film.

Joginder Tuteja, the film critic, believes that Ranbir's upcoming movies are a "high risk" venture rather than safe bets, as their box office performance will ultimately determine if Ranbir will be the next bankable star of India.

"He's at the top of the game. So, there is absolutely no denying the fact, but to call it bankable, it also depends a lot upon the kind of ROI (Return on Investment) that we are looking at from the kind of movies that he's doing. So there is a lot of risk factor involved because neither of his next two movies are safe movie," said Joginder Tuteja.

Sumit Kadel also echoed the same thought, predicting the negative impact of all the future films in the career of Ranbir if 'Ramayana' doesn't work well at the box office.

"Numbers make you a superstar. If you don't have numbers, no matter how good an actor you are, you cannot be a superstar until the box office backs you. If Ramayana doesn't work, then his aiming for the throne will not happen because if Ramayana doesn't work, then it will affect all his films," said Sumit Kadel.

While talking about the impact of box office numbers, Taran Adarsh gave an example of late actor Sanjeev Kumar, who, despite being a good actor, couldn't achieve a similar commercial success delivered by stars like Dharmendra or Jeetendra.

"It's all about numbers today. I mean, acting is good, it's fine, but eventually I've realised over a period of time that the number game is a very powerful tool. Like Sanjeev Kumar was a brilliant actor if you ask me, but as a solo hero, he used to never deliver the numbers that Dharam ji would deliver or a Jeetendra," said Taran Adarsh.

Among the upcoming impressive movie slate of Ranbir, a film critic also expressed confidence in the film 'Animal Park', calling it a "relatively safe" movie for the actor due to the blockbuster success of 'Animal' in 2023.

"The one movie which is relatively safe, that's Animal Park, because there is a legacy of 'Animal' behind it. So whenever Animal Park comes in, it will open huge, and it should turn out to be a good movie as well, hopefully. But then that movie is at least three years away, if not more," said Joginder Tuteja.

Animal Park is the highly anticipated sequel to 'Animal', which was directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. The actor will play a double role in the film. The first instalment starred Bobby Deol in the lead role.

However, in his over 15 years of career, the 'Animal' star has also given a considerable number of flops like 'Saawariya', 'Tamasha', 'Jagga Jasoos', 'Besharam' and others. In the initial years of Ranbir's career, Taran Adarsh noted that the actor was unable to successfully bridge the gap between the multiplexes and the mass audience, leading to a series of flops in his career.

Taran Adarsh said, "In the past, a few films I didn't agree with the kind of work that he was doing, be it Jagga Jasoos or be it Tamasha or those kinds of films, because those don't take you to the masses. Be it Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, or Dharmendra, their reach was not just limited to those metros or the urban centres. They were very popular, and they reached out to the- to the tier-two, tier-three centres also, and that's why they became popular even now."

"It goes for Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Ajay Devgn also. Those films that they have done over a period of time have taken them not just to the urban centres but beyond urban centres also, and that is the reason why these actors have been showered with so much love," added Taran Adarsh.

However, post 'Sanju', things changed for Ranbir professionally. Joginder Tuteja feels that he diverted his focus more to script selection as he is now more dedicated to "please the mass audience."

"Post Sanju, he has been doing films that cater to every section of the audience and which are more towards the gallery audience. Before 2018, the films that he was doing, which didn't work, even in that, his acting got a lot of praise. Plus, he has that kind of craze amongst the youth also, because he is not on social media, he is non-accessible," said Joginder Tuteja.

"He started doing films which are more box-office friendly, and his success ratio is very high. His upcoming films are also very big," added Joginder Tuteja.

Therefore, while Ranbir Kapoor's acting talent and versatility have earned him critical acclaim amongst the cinemagoers and film critics, his journey to becoming a bankable actor ultimately hinges on his upcoming movies' box office performance.

With a slate of high-stakes projects ahead, including Ramayana Part I and II, Love and War, Animal Park, the actor stands at a crossroads where numbers, more than talent alone, will define his standing among Bollywood's elite like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan and others.

The film critics believe that if these films succeed, Ranbir could solidify his place as the industry's next major superstar.

Ranbir Kapoor's 'Ramayana' is directed by Nitesh Tiwari. Along with Ranbir Kapoor, Sunny Deol and Yash, the film also stars Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.

The film is produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios and DNEG, along with Yash's Monster Mind Creations. Set around 5,000 years ago, it is based on one of India's most beloved and well-known stories from mythology.

The first instalment is expected to be released around Diwali this year. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)