Daily Times

Bollywood A-lister Ranbir Kapoor is the next megastar like Shah Rukh Khan, believes an Indian cinema critic and trade analyst.

In a new interview with an Indian media outlet, leading Box Office trade analyst, Taran Adarsh spoke about last year’s blockbusters and the Bollywood stars who bounced back successfully after a string of flops.

He cited Ranbir Kapoor as an example, whose action entertainer by Sandeep Reddy Vanga was the third highest-grossing Bollywood film last year, following Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’ in the top two spots, terming the former the next-gen megastar like SRK. “I didn’t get a chance to watch Animal in the theatres or the preview screenings at T-Series,” Adarsh revealed. “I saw Animal on Netflix once first, then once more, and once again. I saw it thrice and every time I saw it, I felt it was a fantastic film.”

“Anyone can judge me for it but I don’t care. But I loved the film. Sandeep Reddy Vanga is a genius,” he asserted. Adarsh went on to declare, “Ranbir Kapoor is the next Shah Rukh Khan.”

“Having said that, Shah Rukh Khan has a different position. But Ranbir is something else. There is no actor, his age, with due respect to Ranveer Singh or Kartik Aaryan and many other actors who are his contemporaries, I don’t think anyone can match Ranbir Kapoor after Animal. He is a fantastic, fantabulous actor. For me, he is the best we have today,” he explained.

Notably, Vanga’s neo-noir action thriller, starring Kapoor, was one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, despite the polarising reviews from critics, where many dubbed it as misogynistic, like previous ventures of the filmmaker, including ‘Arjun Reddy’ and ‘Kabir Singh’.

On the other hand, Khan also returned to the screens in 2023, after a four-year hiatus, delivering a string of hits, ‘Pathaan’, ‘Jawan’ and ‘Dunki’.