Mumbai, April 23: Actor Ranbir Kapoor is set to play a US-based NRI who has to suddenly return home to take over his family business, in this case politics, in upcoming film "Rajneeti". Director Prakash Jha says the young actor`s character "defines democracy in today`s world".
"Ranbir is so excited about his look, dialogues. He needs to play a character who defines democracy in today`s world. I wouldn`t desvcribe it as a multi-starrer. It`s a multi-actor film," Jha said.
Ranbir`s role sounds familiar to that of Abhishek Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma`s "Sarkar".
Ranbir also has Katrina Kaif as his co-star, just like Abhishek Bachchan did. In "Sarkar", Katrina`s voice had to be dubbed although she played an NRI, but in "Rajneeti", Katrina would be seen giving long speeches in her own voice and that too in Hindi.
Her two-minute speech in front of a 10,000-strong audience at a rally in Bhopal for "Rajneeti" has whetted Ranbir Kapoor`s appetite for getting right the speeches that he needs to deliver for Prakash Jha`s film when he starts shooting in August.
Ranbir doesn`t need to learn Hindi, like Katrina did. He just needs to cultivate an accent to sound like an America-returned Delhi boy who suddenly needs to go from monosyllabic rashtra bhasha to full speeches.
"Katrina Kaif is such a revelation. She was so nervous giving a speech in front of 10,000 people. After she gave her speech I hugged her on stage and shouted out to the junta, `Bhopal ka ticket de de kya?`," Jha said.
Ranbir plays a Harvard-educated US-based NRI who has to return home to look after his mother`s political empire. Ranbir won`t play the reluctant politician in the usual khadi kurta-pyjama dress code. "Ranbir will be very trendily dressed. He plays a young man of today," Jha said.
Ranbir, who joins the cast later, has been regularly calling and talking to the entire cast in Bhopal.
"He even offered to leave whatever he was doing and join us in Bhopal although his shooting starts next month. I remember one day Ajay, Nana, Arjun and Manoj were working together and missing Ranbir. So in the evening we got together in my hotel room and called him. Ranbir spoke to each of us individually. He wanted to leave everything in Mumbai and join us in Bhopal."
Prakash starts workshops with Ranbir after the Lok Sabha elections.
IANS
