Ranbir Kapoor once spoke about witnessing his parents troubled marriage from the frontlines, but said that they found a way to rebuild their relationship over time.

Actor Ranbir Kapoor is being acclaimed for his central performance in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, a crime epic in which Ranbir’s character vents his frustrations about growing up in a dysfunctional environment and craving his father’s approval by going on a murderous rampage. Ranbir has often spoken about his own troubled youth, having grown up witnessing his parents’ Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s marriage go through ups and downs that were inevitably reported in the press.

In an interview with The Big Indian Picture on the sidelines of his film Rockstar’s release over a decade ago, Ranbir spoke candidly about where he visualises himself in the coming years, his aversion to playing manly roles, and the interpersonal conflicts that he engineers as somebody who grew up in a shielded environment. Asked what bothered him more, his own relationship rumours or reports of his parents’ marriage, Ranbir said after thinking about it for a moment, “See, at that time, press didn’t matter, because I was also in the fire zone. I live with my parents. Seeing them going through that phase, I was very much part of it. I was right there.”

He continued, “I live in a bungalow; my parents live downstairs, I live on the floor above. I remember sitting on the staircases for four-four hours, from 1 am to 5 am, hearing them fight, break things… Everyone goes through it, it’s just that my parents were celebrities, it was out there in the press. It was a little embarrassing in school. Your friends don’t mention it, because they’re good friends, but somewhere there was a sense of, ‘I know what’s happening’. But you deal with it.”

What’s more important, Ranbir said, is that his parents worked their differences out. “They came out of this phase, and they found companionship, and love, and friendship, and all of that.” In an old interview that resurfaced on social media some months ago, Neetu had spoken about her husband’s rumoured affairs. “I have caught him flirting hundreds of times. I always seem to be the first to hear about his affairs on outdoor locations. But I know they are just one night stands. Two years ago, I used to fight with him about it but now I have adopted the attitude-go ahead, let’s see how long will you do it,” she’d said.

Actor Ranbir Kapoor is being acclaimed for his central performance in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, a crime epic in which Ranbir’s character vents his frustrations about growing up in a dysfunctional environment and craving his father’s approval by going on a murderous rampage. Ranbir has often spoken about his own troubled youth, having grown up witnessing his parents’ Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s marriage go through ups and downs that were inevitably reported in the press.

In an interview with The Big Indian Picture on the sidelines of his film Rockstar’s release over a decade ago, Ranbir spoke candidly about where he visualises himself in the coming years, his aversion to playing manly roles, and the interpersonal conflicts that he engineers as somebody who grew up in a shielded environment. Asked what bothered him more, his own relationship rumours or reports of his parents’ marriage, Ranbir said after thinking about it for a moment, “See, at that time, press didn’t matter, because I was also in the fire zone. I live with my parents. Seeing them going through that phase, I was very much part of it. I was right there.”

He continued, “I live in a bungalow; my parents live downstairs, I live on the floor above. I remember sitting on the staircases for four-four hours, from 1 am to 5 am, hearing them fight, break things… Everyone goes through it, it’s just that my parents were celebrities, it was out there in the press. It was a little embarrassing in school. Your friends don’t mention it, because they’re good friends, but somewhere there was a sense of, ‘I know what’s happening’. But you deal with it.”

What’s more important, Ranbir said, is that his parents worked their differences out. “They came out of this phase, and they found companionship, and love, and friendship, and all of that.” In an old interview that resurfaced on social media some months ago, Neetu had spoken about her husband’s rumoured affairs. “I have caught him flirting hundreds of times. I always seem to be the first to hear about his affairs on outdoor locations. But I know they are just one night stands. Two years ago, I used to fight with him about it but now I have adopted the attitude-go ahead, let’s see how long will you do it,” she’d said.

Rishi Kapoor died in 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer. Ranbir has often spoken about rebuilding his relationship with his father during his illness. He tied the knot with Alia Bhatt two years later, and they have since welcomed their first child, daughter Raha.