Ranbir Kapoor on Alia Bhatt’s success spree: ‘RRR, Darlings and Gangubai, she’s had the best year an arte has ever had’

Actor Alia Bhatt has often spoken about how she had admired Ranbir Kapoor long before they worked together and started dating. So much so, that it is believed that she ‘manifested’ her happily-ever-after with Ranbir. As both the actors gear up to release their first film together as co-stars, Ranbir reveals that he has Alia’s fan from her initial days as an actor.
Ranbir and Alia will be seen together in Brahmastra: Part One Shiva, directed Ayan Mukerji. The film is the first part of the announced trilogy. The couple is busy promoting the film across the country ahead of its release on September 9.

In an interview with IMDb, when asked about his favourite Alia Bhatt film, Ranbir said, “She’s probably had the best year any art has ever had, in the hory of actors. She’s had Gangubai, she’s had RRR, she’s had Darlings. And now she’s going to have Brahmāstra. The obvious choice would be Gangubai, but I actually became a fan of Alia from her second film onwards, and that was Highway. I was really looking forward to this film and I actually saw it at the edit. I just knew that this was the birth of an actor which is probably… Indian cinema and world cinema weren’t ready for. I hadn’t seen an actor deliver what she did in that film and I think I became a huge admirer of her work since then.”

When Alia was asked the same question about Ranbir, she didn’t waste a minute and said, “Barfi! I think it is just so simple, funny at the same time, so heartbreaking. He literally did not speak through the film, did everything through his eyes, and that was the most beautiful part. It is one of my favorite, most impactful Ranbir Kapoor performances.”
Brahmastra, which also has a strong line-up of cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy, already got fans’ attention, with the trailer and the use of special effects in the film. The film took five years to get shot and release. So, for Ranbir working in this film was a personal experience.
“Brahmastra is part of our DNA now,” said Ranbir, who also added, “It’s been five years. Ayan, Alia, and me are also really close friends, so on every occasion in our lives, if it’s a birthday, if it’s Diwali, if it’s Chrmas, if it’s our marriage, we were always talking about Brahmastra. So, it never really left our system.”

 
While Ranbir has worked with Ayan in Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, it is the first time Alia is collaborating with him. She calls him a ‘taskmaster’ but also a good friend. Elaborating on her experience, Alia said, “He’s our best friend but he’s also, like, a true principal. A taskmaster. He really makes sure the work is done and that’s the most amazing part with him, that hard work and Ayan are synonymous with each other. He expects that with every crew member and we, at the end of the day, are just crew members and he’s the visionary.”