'Besharam' born to be Bollywood box-office blockbuster

‘Besharam’ is a new action-comedy featuring Bollywood mega-star, Ranbir Kapoor.

The actor has long been one of India’s most celebrated and well paid actors, with estimated annual earnings of over eight million euros.

All a far cry from his role in this movie, where he plays the part of a morally-loose street-smart Delhi mechanic who lives in a local orphanage.

As he explains, it was an enjoyable character to play: “It is a comedy and the character I play is a bit over the top, flamboyant, vulgar, repulsive, so it was fun playing it. I don’t think I would really label it as a comedy, it’s still your quintessential Hindi entertaining film. It has the comedy, the romance, the drama, the action. It’s basically taking the piss out of yourself. It’s quite exciting because it is a new genre for me. “

In the movie, Ranbir Kapoor stars opposite his real-life parents – Indian acting giants, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, who play a police couple on the hunt to track him down.

But it seems what could have been a potentially terrifying family experience actually proved a lot of fun for everyone involved. As he explains: “My preconceived notion was that it would scary. I thought I would screw up in front of them and not be able to say my dialogue right. Just the fact that they are my parents. But I think they themselves are such great actors, hard-working, passionate actors, that when we came on set everybody surrendered to their own parts and I think it was a good experience. Also the dynamic between our characters was comedic; they’re playing cops, I’m playing a robber, so it was like spy vs spy. It was fun to do.”

With four million youtube hits for the trailer already, the film feels guaranteed to be a smash-hit. The fact it’s directed by the great Abhinav Kashyap also helps. His 2010 directorial debut – ‘Dabangg’ – remains one of the highest–grossing Bollywoods film of all time.

‘Besharam’ is out on release in India and the UK, now.