If
Ranbir
Kapoor
is
being
seen
as
the
true
inheritor
of
the
Kapoor
legacy,
it
is
with
reason.
In
his
debut
film
Saawariya
a
major
part
of
Ranbir's
personality
was
patterned
on
Raj
Kapoor.
And
now
Rajkumar
Santoshi
who
sees
a
special
spark
in
the
Saawariya
star
is
getting
ready
to
take
Ranbir's
acting
ancestry
to
another
level.
In
Santoshi's
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani
Ranbir
plays
the
melancholy
lover-boy
hopelessly
in
love
with
the
idea
of
being
in
love.
The
character
was
immortalized
by
Raj
Kapoor
in
Mera
Naam
Joker
and
before
him,
Chaplin
in
City
Lights.
Ranbir
in
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani
plays
'Prem'
a
true
inheritor
of
the
two
imperishable
heroes
from
the
past.
Says
Santoshi,
"I
decided
Ranbir
was
the
right
actor
for
my
film
from
the
time
I
saw
Saawariya.
He
plays
Prem
an
innocent
guy
with
a
heart
of
gold.
Yes
there
will
be
distinct
elements
of
Charlie
Chaplin
and
Raj
Kapoor,
though
not
too
much
of
it.
Raj
Saab
has
already
done
it
all
in
Sri
420
and
it
would
look
repetitive.
Also,
that
level
of
political
and
sexual
innocence
would
look
odd
in
present
times.
Let's
say
Ranbir
plays
the
Charlie
Chaplin
and
Raj
Kapoor
of
our
times."
Santoshi
fondly
recalls
the
experience
of
working
with
Ranbir's
father.
"In
my
film
Damini,
Rishi
Kapoor
played
a
really
difficult
role...of
a
man
caught
between
his
duties
towards
his
family
and
society.
Though
Rishi
didn't
have
an
author-backed
role
in
Damini,
what
a
beautiful
job
he
did."
Ranbir
on
the
other
hand
not
only
has
the
title
role
in
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani.
His
character
also
gets
to
go
through
a
series
of
life-changing
experiences.
"Ranbir
takes
interest
in
every
aspect
of
the
film.
He's
a
keen
student
if
cinema.
His
enthusiasm
for
cinema
goes
much
beyond
his
role.
I
know
I'll
enjoy
my
shooting
with
him.
But
beyond
that
I'm
right
now
enjoying
interacting
with
him," adds
Santoshi.
In
the
next
two
months,
Santoshi
will
be
doing
a
first-look
photo
session
between
Ranbir
and
Katrina
Kaif.
"We'll
also
be
sitting
on
the
costumes
because
the
clothes
are
a
very
important
part
of
the
story.
We
start
shooting
the
film
only
when
Ranbir
returns
from
his
long
foreign
schedule
of
the
Yash
Raj
Films,"
informs
Santoshi.
Being
a
full-on
love
story
Pritam
is
doing
the
music
score
of
Ajab
Prem
Ki
Ghazab
Kahani.
"I've
been
watching
Pritam's
growth
as
a
musician.
And
I
can't
think
of
anyone
else
for
this
project,"
says
Santoshi
who
has
earlier
worked
with
the
likes
of
A
R
Rahman.
Story first published: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 11:46 [IST]