Ranbir Kapoor says he had to tap into his ‘past’ to get ‘angst’ for Shamshera: ‘It was a very hard film for me’

Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Vaani Kapoor attended the Shamshera trailer launch on Friday. They also posed together for photos at the event in Mumbai, where Ranbir said that he ‘lacks angst’, and that filmmaker Karan Malhotra talked about the actor’s past to extract that emotion from him. Also Read: Shamshera trailer: Ranbir Kapoor plays desi Robin Hood in first double role; Sanjay Dutt appears as ruthless cop. Watch

“It was very hard for me (to do this film). Karan held my hand. One thing I lack as an actor is angst. I am not an angry person. I am a fun-loving, happy and detached guy. Karan struggled with angst and we sat together a lot. He was like, ‘how do I extract the emotion of anger from you for the character’. He started going deeper in my personal life, into my past, because he wanted to tap into that side of me,” Ranbir said.

The actor also spoke about Sanjay, and how working with him has been ‘unbelievable’. Ranbir said, “I have had a poster of him, I got to know him. He has been a family friend. Then I got to act as him and got to portray his life. Now I got him to be my nemesis. The journey has been unbelievable. He treats me like his son, a brother and a friend. He calls me and shouts at me when I am doing bad films… He also insisted that I should make larger-than-life movies and I believe ‘Shamshera’ is the positive step towards that.”

In a photo shared by a fan account on Friday, Ranbir, Sanjay and Vaani are seen posing for a picture at inside a movie theatre, holding popcorn buckets featuring the film’s poster on them. One fan reacted, “Super.” Another person spoke about Ranbir’s 2018 film Sanju, which was based on the life of actor Sanjay Dutt. The fan commented, “Ranbir and Sanjay automatically remind me of Sanju.” One person joked, “Dharam se popcorn lover (Popcorn lover by heart).”

Helmed by Karan Malhotra, Shamshera is set in the fictitious city of Kaza, where a warrior tribe is imprisoned, enslaved and tortured by a ruthless authoritarian general Shudh Singh. This is the story of a man who became a slave, a slave who became a leader and then a legend for his tribe. He relentlessly fights for his tribe’s freedom and dignity. His name is Shamshera.

The high-octane, adrenaline-pumping entertainer is set in the 1800s in the heartland of India. Ranbir will be seen in the role of Shamshera, while Sanjay essays Ranbir’s arch-enemy. Produced by Aditya Chopra, ‘Shamshera’ is set to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on July 22.

(With inputs from ANI)