Rishi Kapoor admits that "films are our family business", is happy that his son Ranbir entered filmdom and praises him for taking an unconventional route to stardom without his help.
Rishi told IANS: "I am very proud that my son is trying to keep the flag of the Kapoor's flying. I always encourage him and want him to do better work."
Rishi wants Ranbir to be successful while being level headed.
"I want his head on his shoulders. I want him to be very realistic about the fact. Films is not just a joke, it's our family business and I am happy that he is serious about his career and his work," said Rishi.
Although Ranbir, 30, had a dull start with "Saawariya", but thanks to his choice of roles in "Wake Up Sid", "Raajneeti", "Rockstar" and "Barfi", the youngster has a carved a niche for himself in just six years.
"He is an actor who has taken a less travelled route. He is choosing different films and doing films that are not the staple diet of film heroes. For that I give him credit. The choice of his films are totally his, all creative decisions are his, I have no contribution to that at all. People feel I chose his films, but it's not so. I am just his father, not his manager," said Rishi.
Was Ranbir sure shot about becoming an actor?
"He knew his family business is such, so you are inclined to get into it, which is very natural. That must have influenced him. He wanted to go to a film school, so he went there and got trained as an actor. And god has been kind, he has given him some kind of strength to maintain his name," said Rishi, whose family has been a part of Indian filmdom for the past 85 years.
Ranbir, the great grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor, represents the fourth generation of the Kapoors with cousins Karisma and Kareena.
Although his son was experimenting a lot in the beginning, but in his heydays, Rishi was stuck to romantic roles in "Bobby", "Khel Khel Mien" and "Karz".
He didn't get to experiment much during that time, but recently films like "Do Dooni Chaar" and "Agneepath" have given him a chance to make up for the lost opportunities.
"I have never got to play these kind of roles when I was younger. When you are young, you want to do romantic roles. Now I am playing all kinds of roles, which are very prominent to the subject and I am happy that they came my way. I love to experiment with different roles," said the 60-year-old who was tagged "cholcolate hero" and "lover boy" in his prime in the 1980s.
Although his father Raj Kapoor was an actor and director par excellence and established R.K. Films, but Rishi -- who burnt his fingers by going behind the camera for Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai starrer "Aa Ab Laut Chalen" in 1999 -- has no plans to wear the director's hat.
"I am not planning to direct any film. I have so much work. God has been kind and I am happy with the work I am doing right now. I want to be focused," said the actor busy with "D-Day", and two more films to be directed under Yash Raj Films banner, "Kaanchi" and "Besharam".
In an interview, Rishi had said that when his first film "Bobby" came, his actor uncle Shashi Kapoor had arranged for a grand welcome for him at an airport. But the new trend of promotional activities are different and stressful, he says.
"Promotions these days are very stressful. I see my son doing it more than me. He is right now promoting his 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' and I see him running around here and there - sometimes in London, sometimes in Dubai. It is very stressful," he said.
(Uma Ramasubramanian can be contacted at uma.sagit@gmail.com)
