Ranbir Kapoor eyes the director's chair as Ramayana opens to around £10 million worldwide

Highlights

• Ranbir Kapoor, 44, hopes to direct his first film within two or three years, and says he has started writing a screenplay
• In an interview with BBC Asian Network, he called the coming years his "last decade as an actor", then clarified he meant the roles he can play, not retirement
• He wants to finish Ramayana Part 2, Animal Park and Brahmastra 2 before stepping behind the camera
• Ramayana Part 1, released on 5 November, grossed an estimated £9.6-10 million worldwide on day one, and set a UK record for a Bollywood opening day

RANBIR KAPOOR has set a timeline for a dream he has talked about for years: directing his own film. The actor, who is promoting Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, says he hopes to start shooting his directorial debut within two to three years, and has begun writing the screenplay.

What did Ranbir Kapoor tell BBC Asian Network about directing?

In a joint interview with Ramayana co-star Sai Pallavi, recorded for BBC Asian Network, Kapoor spoke about his long-held ambition. He wants to complete the projects already on his plate first, which he named as Ramayana Part 2, Animal Park and Brahmastra 2, before he will "get on floors with my directorial debut within two or three years", he said, adding that he hoped so.

In a clip circulating online, he said the story he has in mind might be one he does not star in: "I might not act in it myself." He is not short of time to write, he added in another interview: "I work only 100-125 days a year."

Is Ranbir Kapoor retiring from acting?

No. The remark that set social media alight was his description of this decade as his last as an actor. "I guess it's my last decade as an actor... where I can get to play these parts," he said. Fans reacted with alarm, and one wrote that he was not retiring until he was 85. Kapoor then clarified that he was referring to the kind of roles he currently gets to play, not to quitting acting.

A move into direction would follow a path that runs through his family. His grandfather, Raj Kapoor, was one of Hindi cinema's great actor-directors. Ranbir began as an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Black (2005), before making his acting debut in Bhansali's Saawariya two years later. He is also a credited producer on Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva.

How is Ramayana Part 1 performing at the India box office?

Strongly by most measures, though trackers differ and some say it fell short of pre-release forecasts. Ramayana Part 1 opened on Thursday 5 November and collected between about £4.9 million and £5.1 million net in India on day one, depending on the tracker, with an India gross of about £6.1 million. Bollywood Hungama calls it the second-highest opening day of 2026, just £105,000 or so short of Animal, while Koimoi called a start of about £5.1 million underwhelming given advance sales. On Friday, trackers estimated £3.6-3.7 million net, taking the two-day India total to about £8.5-8.7 million net. One tracker puts its worldwide opening of about £10 million ahead of Animal's £9.1 million, the biggest of Kapoor's career.

How did Ramayana perform in the UK and the US?

Overseas, the film opened with about $5.4 million (about £4 million) on day one. In the UK it collected £440,000, a record for a Bollywood opening day, beating the £427,000 set by Dhurandhar: The Revenge. The United States was its biggest overseas market, with $2.8 million, the second-biggest Bollywood opening there, and it was the number one film at the US box office on its opening Thursday, according to reports.

Kapoor was in the UK in the days before the release. Ranbir Kapoor in London joined Yash and Sai Pallavi at a photocall at The Corinthia on 2 November, an event that organisers said highlighted the film's pull for British South Asian audiences.

What is the Ramayana budget, and can it make its money back?

That is the question for the trade. The two-part film has a reported combined budget of about £315 million at current exchange rates, which makes it India's costliest film. Eastern Eye's earlier report on the budget put the figure at £375 million. The Week reports that the first instalment's production and marketing alone cost an estimated £110-157 million. The film has also reportedly secured a digital and satellite rights deal worth about £35 million. None of the budget figures have been officially confirmed. Critics are split on the result: our Ramayana Part 1 review rounds up reactions to Yash's Ravana and Kapoor's Rama.

What are Ranbir Kapoor's upcoming films?

His next release is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love & War, with Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, scheduled for 21 January 2027, after earlier delays. Ramayana Part 2 is due at Diwali 2027, and Kapoor has said he has completed around half of it, in comments that fuelled Ramayana Part 3 speculation. He has said work on Brahmastra 2 will start "very, very soon", and Animal Park, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, was earlier reported to begin shooting around mid-2027.

Ranbir Kapoor's achievements: from Mumbai assistant director to four Filmfare Best Actor awards

Born in Mumbai on 28 September 1982, Kapoor is the son of Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, and the great-grandson of Prithviraj Kapoor.

There is an Eastern Eye footnote, too. In December 2010, Kapoor topped the magazine's poll of the Sexiest Asian Man, ahead of John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan.

Off screen, Kapoor is married to the actor Alia Bhatt, and their daughter Raha shot a scene for Ramayana, he revealed this week.