Dune director Denis Villenueve was impressed Ranbir Kapoor after watching Raajneeti on a plane: ‘He stood out among such an ensemble’ | Bollywood News

Film programmer Deepti D’Cunha has had a long and successful career managing film festivals, curating movies, and introducing Indian audiences to world cinema. She shared a story from one such film festival, where she bumped into none other than Dune director Denis Villeneuve. This was before he’d made a move to Hollywood, and was showing his French-language film Incendies across the world. The filmmaker told her that he’d just watched his first Hindi film, a political drama that happened to feature several talented actors. However, one star among the ensemble stood out to him: Ranbir Kapoor.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Deepti shared a picture of Villeneuve’s signature on a film festival catalogue. “Browsing through old film festival catalogues, I found Denis Villeneuve’s autograph (yes! before selfie days). He had come to premiere Incendies at Abu Dhabi Film Festival – 2010, and I remember the wonderful conversation we had because he’d just watched his first Indian film,” she wrote on X.
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She continued. “Which happened to be Raajneeti, and (he) was very impressed Ranbir Kapoor and wanted to know more about him. He said he is a wonderful actor and stood out among such an ensemble cast. A fond memory of chatting with him & amazing now to see Denis helming such huge Hollywood films!”
Raajneeti, released in 2010, was directed Prakash Jha and had a stellar ensemble cast consing of Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Katrina Kaif and Naseeruddin Shah. The political drama received wide critical acclaim, and Ranbir was complimented for holding his own among such seasoned actors.
At the film festival Deepti also met with Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, who was there for the premiere of his film Certified Copy. “I naively invited him to India with a bit of trivia, saying, Do you know ‘Where Is the Friend’s Home?’ is the most requested film print from our National Archives?”

Browsing through old film festival catalogues and I found #DenisVilleneuve‘s autograph ( yes! before selfie days) He had come to premiere #Incendies at AbuDhabi Film Festival- 2010 and I remember the wonderful conversation we had because he’d just watched his first Indian film… pic.twitter.com/BVoA9ymdAX
— Deepti DCunha (@deemelinda) April 3, 2025
 
Villeneuve’s next project, Dune: Messiah, is set to release sometime in 2026 with lead stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Florence Pugh all set to return. Villeneuve last directed the critical and commercial hit Dune: Part Two. He has also helmed Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Prisoners, and Sicario.