Brahmastra Has Been Part of Our DNA, Says Ranbir Kapoor

While the stars of Brahmāstra Part One: Shiva have steered clear of interacting with the Indian press, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor  did answer some of IMDb’s Burning Questions. The real-life couple said director Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra holds a special place in their hearts. “Brahmāstra has been part of our DNA now. 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 Christmas, if it’s our marriage, we were always talking about Brahmāstra,” said Kapoor who has acted in Mukerji’s previous two films, Wake Up Sid (2009) and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013).

Bhatt described Mukerji as 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,” she said.

When asked to list his favourite out of Bhatt’s films, Kapoor mentioned Gangubai Kathiawadi, RRR, Darlings and, of course, the upcoming Brahmastra. “The obvious choice would be Gangubai, but I actually became a fan of Alia from her second film onwards, and that was Highway,” he said. “I just knew that this was the birth of an actor [for] which … Indian cinema and world cinema weren’t ready.”

Bhatt chose to ignore Kapoor prompting her to mention Shamshera and picked Barfi as her favourite performance by Kapoor. “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,” she said.