Ranbir Kapoor’s roles are a masterclass in who to steer clear of while falling in love and we thank him for that!

We surely owe it to Ranbir Kapoor for showing us who not to fall for via some of his most iconic characters which he played with the utmost conviction!

We’ve had Shah Rukh Khan show us what a walking talking green flag can look like. He is the dream, he is everyone’s ideal type. But unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. As much as we’d love to date a green flag, life throws the most deeply flawed men in our path. Here’s where Ranbir Kapoor comes in and shows us their issues and helps us see why they are the way they are! He has made an entire career out of playing characters who either wait to get ‘fixed’ by a woman or work his way through his ‘daddy issues’. Sometimes it has ended well and sometimes it's had the audience riled up. But through it all, he's helped us dodge a bullet or two! Plus, nobody can play damaged men the way he does! 

It all started with Wake Up Sid when Sid left his house after a fight with his dad and Aisha made a man out of him. She made him realize his love for photography which eventually turned into his career. Following Sid’s footsteps came Bunny from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani who needed to be pulled out of his no strings attached attitude just because his father remarried after his mother’s passed away. Naina was the one who taught him to love the life he has and be in the present. Then came Ved who succumbed to his father’s pressure of becoming an engineer and his actual dream of becoming a storyteller took a backseat. Until Tara came and showed him he can do whatever he loves and live the life he has always wanted. But to top it all, came Ranvijay in Animal, a man so troubled, so disturbed that he just could not open his eyes and see his issues. He was the living, breathing, walking definition of a red flag who glorified violence and objectifying women, simply because his father never gave him the attention he craved from him since his childhood. 

Also Read: While a new Ranbir era has begun, here’s the Ranbir Kapoor we truly miss and fell in love with!

Do these characters reek of toxic masculinity? Yes, of course! There’s no denying that. Do we support them in any way at all? Absolutely not! But here’s the thing about these characters, sadly, in today’s world we’re more likely to meet a Bunny or a Ranvijay than a Rahul or a Raj. While it’s important to show a magical world where we feel like it’s what we deserve in our love life, it’s also important to hold a mirror to reality and show what to stay away from.

If it weren’t for Ranbir Kapoor playing these men, we would probably still be naive or wouldn’t get angry when he behaved the way he did on-screen. And I say it’s realistic because most men in India don’t have a very affectionate relationship with their fathers. They are taught not to cry, not to emote, not to be gentle towards a woman, and most of all they’re taught to blindly follow their father’s footsteps. Ranbir takes this same reality and translates it on-screen with so much depth and layer.

The rage against movies like Animal is absolutely necessary, but none of us can deny the fact that we all hated the film because Ranbir went into Ranvijay’s psyche and made us all loathe him. Even though these characters belong to the same genre of suppressed trauma, it is Ranbir who still manages to bring something new to the table with his various ways of portraying these men. His eyes might reflect their rage and anger but it also reflects the underlying pain of a boy who was never loved. With the never ending nepotism debate, Ranbir sure is that one actor who has actually proven his worth even though he comes from a privileged background simply because of his vast and versatile filmography, his courage to try characters on extreme spectrums of morale and just always wanting to reinvent himself!

Here's wishing the powerhouse of talent a very Happy Birthday! Via your characters, you show us why it’s important to prioritize mental health and go for therapy!

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