Photo: Ranbir Kapoor with Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani

Ranbir Kapoor’s on a roll. After a rocking 2009 – he had the coming-of-age Wake Up, Sid, love caper Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahaani, and the acclaimed Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, the Kapoor scion is hoping to repeat the magic with his line-up this year. What’s on his list? Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, Siddharth Anand’s Anjaana Anjaani and Imitiaz Ali’s Rockstar.

Born into a family of film stars, stardom didn’t come very easy to Ranbir Kapoor. After a stint at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, Ranbir Kapoor returned to India and worked as an assistant to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the 2005 film Black. He made his debut in 2007 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya opposite Sonam Kapoor. The film tanked, and for a long time, Ranbir – though appreciated by critics – found that the big roles weren’t coming his way. All that changed with his 2008 film, Siddharth Anand’s Bachna Ae Haseeno which cast him opposite Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba as a playboy who falls in love.

Then came 2009 – his turn as spoiled, selfish and rich Mumbai brat Sid opposite Konkona Sen Sharma’s Aisha in Wake Up, Sid earned him rave reviews. His chemistry with Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani lit up the screens and the box office. In Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, as the truthful, caught-in-the-wrong-job salesman Harpreet, he shone through with a quiet, sensitive performance of the underdog who triumphs. His performances in Wake Up, Sid and Rocket Singh also earned him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance in 2009.

This year promises to set him on the road to stardom, big time. Coming up first is Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, a family drama that focuses on the politics that members of families play. One of the most awaited films of the year, Rajneeti features an impressive ensemble cast with actors such as Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseeruddin Shah and Ajay Devgn. Rajneeti, courting controversy because of a reported similarity between the character that Katrina Kaif plays and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is scheduled for a June 4, 2010, release.

Prakash Jha, who last directed Apharan in 2005 and Gangajal in 2003, says Rajneeti is his most complete film. “This is a film about politics and tries to cover most aspects involved in politics – personal, family, social, state, national. Basically, the film tries to showcase what happens in politics. And I would say this is my most complete film,” he has said.

Ranbir Kapoor, who plays a suave politico, seems quite kicked about his part and said he was not apprehensive in the least about the fact that he was working with actors who had for so long been part of realistic cinema. Rajneeti, he says, was a huge learning experience.

Slated for a Sept. 4, 2010, release is Siddharth Anand’s Anjaana Anjaani. Ranbir Kapoor is cast opposite Priyanka Chopra (who is currently also working on Vishal Bhardwaj’s Saat Khoon Maaf) for the first time in this romcom. Siddharth Anand, who has films like Bachna Ae Haseeno and Salaam Namaste to his credit, was reportedly keen to cast Katrina Kaif, but chose Priyanka Chopra. Anjaana Anjaani, which also stars Zayed Khan, will be shot in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Anjaana Anjaani is being produced by Sajid Nadiadwala’s Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, and will have music by Vishal-Shekhar.

Late 2010 or early 2011 will see the release of Imitiaz Ali’s Rockstar. Shri Ashtavinayak Cine Vision and Eros International Media Ltd will jointly produce Rockstar. Imitiaz Ali, the director of Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, looked at the possibility of casting Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma as a Kashmiri girl opposite Ranbir Kapoor, but has finally zeroed in on model Diana Penty (she has appeared in the Maybelline, Garnier and Virgin Mobile ads) as his female lead.

Rajneeti poster: The movie has an ensemble cast

Rajneeti, which features an impressive ensemble cast with actors such as Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal, Naseeruddin Shah and Ajay Devgn, is set to release  on 4 June 2010.

Now that Jha has sold the rights of his movie to Colors channel – for more than Rs 5 crore – fans can catch Rajneeti on TV barely four weeks after its release.

Photo: Katrina Kaif and Nana Patekar from the sets of Rajneeti

This is not the first time that Colors has bagged the rights of a much-hyped movie. Colors aired Blue (the movie was a flop in theaters, by the way!) just 45 days after the movie was released and has also telecast movies like Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (paying Rs 4.5 crore for the first screening) and Kurbaan soon after their release. According to Mid-Day, Colors paid Rs 5 crores for telecast rights of the movie.

Colors has relied on new movies to earn it good revenues and to race ahead in the TRP rankings.
With Rajneeti, Prakash Jha hopes to take the “dirty” out of “dirty politics”. He says the film is a family drama with plenty of the politics that members of families play.

“Rajneeti has been a long journey. It is a film about politics and tries to cover most aspects involved in politics – personal, family, social, state, national. Basically, the film tries to showcase what happens in politics. And I would say this is my most complete film,” Jha said to Hindustan Times.

The filmmaker, who contested the Lok Sabha elections from West Champaran in Bihar last year, says he has had a fulfilling experience working with each and every member of the cast, including Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

Ranbir Kapoor, who seems quite kicked about his part in Rajneeti, said he was not apprehensive in the least about the fact that he was working with actors who had for so long been part of realistic cinema. He claimed the film was a huge learning experience for him.

Though Katrina Kaif’s simple and sari-clad look in Rajneeti has drawn comparisons about the resemblance of her character with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Jha said that the movie was not based on any political party or ideology, and that it was based on the reality of politics. Katrina Kaif, who plays the female lead, has also strongly denied that her role in Rajneeti had anything to do with Sonia Gandhi.

Prakash Jha is known for his highly political films such as Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Apaharan and is the recepient of multiple National Film Awards and Filmfare awards.

The movie is said to be a comic take on life in the times of recession.

This is good news for Jaideep Sahni and Shimit Amin fans like me.

Jaideep Sahni is the scriptwriter of Company, Bunty Aur Babli, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Chak De! India, and Aaja Nachle.

In nearly all of his films he has brought across a poignant understanding of the middle class and small town India.

Of all of his movies, Aaja Nachle was completely panned, but I thought the movie was well-scripted and directed.

It was supposed to be Madhuri Dixit’s “comeback” movie, and it was heartening to see that she was cast as a 40-year-old single mother, closer to her age, and not in roles essayed by the Katrinas or Rani Mukherjees.

The main reason the movie tanked was because it was Madhuri’s “comeback film” and most expected it to be some sort of grand spectacle, not the small town story that it was.

Shimit Amin has directed the 2004 Ab Tak Chhappan, which got him critical acclaim, and the 2007 Chak De! India that got him both critical acclaim and a huge box office success.

It will be interesting to see how Rocket Singh-Salesman of the Year shapes up. We haven’t seen a realistic tongue-in-cheek comedy like Khosla Ka Ghosla in a long time, except for the recent Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, so Rocket Singh-Salesman of the Year should be welcome.

Ranbir Kapoor, who had a very shaky acting debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya, has done well with his 2008 Bachna Ae Haseeno.

He will be seen next in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Wake Up Sid, and Rajniti, in 2009.

Photo: Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani

The movie, which is in post-production right now, will be released in August 2009. Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani also stars Upen Patel, Darshan Jariwala, Govind Namdeo, Smita Jaykar, Navneet Nishan, Zakir Hussain, Jagdeep, and Salman Khan in a guest appearance.

Raj Kumar Santoshi has described the movie as a light romantic comedy. He has co-written the movie with R.D. Tailang.

A light rom com from Santoshi should be good. Andaz Apna Apna, which he directed in 1994, was a hilarious comedy and, probably, one of his best movies. Santoshi has a caustic wit that shines through even in his most serious movies.

Though he is known to pick socially relevant subjects, Raj Kumar Santoshi has never been able to do complete justice to them.

Admittedly, his movies and very honest and have strong moral and social messages, be it Damini (which was very very pretty good) or Lajja.

But, he ends up diluting the movies with the usual song-and-dance routines or simply getting carried away with the dramatic potential. As a result, his movies end up having a dated feel, despite tight screenplays.

His last movie Halla Bol that was released in 2008 was a total disaster.

Santoshi usually works with the same actors, be it Sunny Deol or Ajay Devgan.

Working with a young turk like Ranbir Kapoor is a first for him.

Perhaps, with Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani he will reinvent himself in other ways as well. All he has to do is cut the drama, and he will be home safe and dry.

Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani will be Ranbir Kapoor’s third film. His first Saawariya was a washout but his second Bachna Ae Haseeno was a hit.

Ranbir Kapoor will also be seen in Wake Up Sid (2009), with Konkona Sen Sharma, and Prakash Jha’s Rajniti (2010).

Katrina Kaif is now an A-list actress despite her poor histrionic abilities, with back-to-back hits, like Namastey London, Partner, Welcome, Race, and Singh is Kinng, to her credit.

She will appear in Blue and New York, in 2009, and in Rajniti in 2010.

Photo: Imran Khan

The wacky-cheeky duo will be missed, though. While Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor are smart kids, they are also sweet boys, very earnest and fair. And that does not entertaining hosting make. But better earnest, than rude.

At least there will be no embarrassing fireworks, like the ones we saw at the 2009 Screen awards, with Ashutosh Gowarikar flaying Sajid Khan publicly, and Farah Khan jumping into the melee with both feet, arms flailing. Not nice.

Ranbir Kapoor photo

Reports say Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor are finetuning a comic script and rehearsing it.

The 26-year-old Imran Khan debuted in 2008 with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, which was a blockbuster. Khan was much appreciated for his acting talent and his good looks. Imran’s next release was Kidnap, which was not a hit, but Imran Khan did receive some positive reviews. Imran Khan will be next seen in Luck and Delhi Belly, both of which will release in 2009.

Photo: Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan hosting the 2008 Filmfare Awards

Ranbir Kapoor’s debut movie was the disastrous Saawariya, though he won the 2008 Filmfare award for the Best Debut Male. Ranbir Kapoor last flick Bachna Ae Haseeno was a huge hit. Ranbir Kapoor’s forthcoming releases in 2009 are Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, Wake Up Sid, and Rajniti.