Rajkumar Hirani says Ranbir Kapoor may have influenced son Vir to become an actor

Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani revealed that working with Ranbir Kapoor during Sanju may have inspired his son Vir Hirani to become an actor instead of a director. The filmmaker also shared how he initially tried to discourage Vir before backing his acting debut in Pritam and Pedro.

In Short

• Rajkumar Hirani said Ranbir Kapoor inspired son Vir to act
• Vir assisted father Rajkumar before choosing acting over directing
• Hirani initially tried to dissuade Vir from acting

Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani admitted that actor Ranbir Kapoor may have unknowingly inspired his son, Vir Hirani, to pursue acting. The filmmaker, in an exclusive chat with India Today, even revealed that he had always imagined Vir would become a director and so tried to talk him out of acting after he announced his decision.

Vir, who made his acting debut with the web series Pritam and Pedro, had spent years assisting Hirani on his films before deciding he wanted to pursue acting instead. Looking back, the filmmaker believes working closely with Ranbir Kapoor during Sanju may have played a part in that decision.

"He was making good films. Even in school, he made such lovely films. I always thought he was going to direct. He had worked with me and assisted me on Sanju as he had taken a break from school after his 12th. He was even around on some of the schedules of PK. I thought he was learning the job, but then one day he came and said he wanted to be an actor. So, I think he saw Ranbir and got influenced. Ranbir must have told him, 'You're such a hero.' So, he must have thought, 'Bas ab yehi karna hai (I want to act)'," the filmmaker said.

Unlike many filmmaker fathers who are often excited about launching their children, Hirani said his first reaction was to talk Vir out of it. The director admitted he had never even seen his son perform and wasn't convinced acting was the right career choice. "So, I tried to really dissuade him, because I had never seen him act. I asked him, why do you want to do it? But he was adamant, and even told me, 'You only said in 3 Idiots, do what your heart likes.' So, I was struck with that," he added.

Vir then spent the next six to seven years training as an actor, studying theatre and honing his craft before approaching Pritam and Pedro, which was directed by Avinash Arun (and written and produced by Hirani). Interestingly, the filmmaker said his son wasn't originally being considered for the role.

He said, "When he came, we were already on the journey of making this. We were thinking of casting somebody else. He didn't even tell me, and met Avinash directly, asking for an audition. And Vir had read the script, so he kept sending one scene, and had shot almost like 30-40 scenes. Avinash also watched his play, and that's when he told me that, if we already have him, why are we looking at somebody else. But for me, I was not thinking that he would be part of this project."

With every star kid's debut now inviting conversations around nepotism, we also asked Hirani whether he thought about the criticism that inevitably comes with producing his son's first project.

The filmmaker, however, said he has learnt to tune out the noise. "They would have said, launch him in a film, and if we had done it, that would have been questioned. The same goes for an OTT show. So, I didn't give it much thought. I feel that if you are good at your job, people will spot you, and you will obviously get better roles. And if nothing, you will learn from this," he said.

Right now, the pressure is also not too much; the attention is also not on him. He said he wanted to do it. I said, it's a good script, do it. And since Arshad was also there, and they have known each other, I thought they would be comfortable. So, I thought, let's go with the tide," the filmmaker added.

Pritam and Pedro is currently streaming on JioHotstar.

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