Ranbir Kapoor says he had to tap into his ‘past’ to get ‘angst’ for Shamshera: 'It was a very hard film for me'

Ranbir Kapoor opened up about his role in Shamshera at the film's trailer launch event. He also talked about how filmmaker Karan Malhotra worked with him to extract the ‘anger’ emotion.

Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Vaani Kapoor attended the Shamshera trailer launch on Friday. They also posed together for photos at the event in Mumbai, where Ranbir said that he 'lacks angst', and that filmmaker Karan Malhotra talked about the actor's past to extract that emotion from him.

Ranbir Kapoor on his role in Shamshera. (AFP)

“It was very hard for me (to do this film). Karan held my hand. One thing I lack as an actor is angst. I am not an angry person. I am a fun-loving, happy and detached guy. Karan struggled with angst and we sat together a lot. He was like, ‘how do I extract the emotion of anger from you for the character’. He started going deeper in my personal life, into my past, because he wanted to tap into that side of me,” Ranbir said.

The actor also spoke about Sanjay, and how working with him has been 'unbelievable'. Ranbir said, “I have had a poster of him, I got to know him. He has been a family friend. Then I got to act as him and got to portray his life. Now I got him to be my nemesis. The journey has been unbelievable. He treats me like his son, a brother and a friend. He calls me and shouts at me when I am doing bad films... He also insisted that I should make larger-than-life movies and I believe 'Shamshera' is the positive step towards that.”

A picture of Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Vaani Kapoor.

Helmed by Karan Malhotra, Shamshera is set in the fictitious city of Kaza, where a warrior tribe is imprisoned, enslaved and tortured by a ruthless authoritarian general Shudh Singh. This is the story of a man who became a slave, a slave who became a leader and then a legend for his tribe. He relentlessly fights for his tribe's freedom and dignity. His name is Shamshera.

The high-octane, adrenaline-pumping entertainer is set in the 1800s in the heartland of India. Ranbir will be seen in the role of Shamshera, while Sanjay essays Ranbir's arch-enemy. Produced by Aditya Chopra, 'Shamshera' is set to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on July 22.

(With inputs from ANI)