MUMBAI: Heedless of box office considerations Ranbir Kapoor continues to push into unconventional zones. So far the only truly conventional mainstream film he has done is Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. That apart, Ranbir’s roles have ranged from the unorthodox debut in Saawariya to the slice-of-life romance Wake Up Sid, to the political fable Raajneeti and now the upcoming Chaplinesque comedy Barfee where the star-actor goes deaf and mute.

 

His latest role acquisition may turn out to be Ranbir’s most daring and unexpected foray into acting to date.

 

Ranbir is all set to team up with Anurag Kashyap. The actor has stepped into a role earmarked for Aamir Khan in Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet. Based on eminent historian Gyan Prakash’s semi-fictional study of Mumbai in the 1960s, it will transport Ranbir into his first true-blue period drama.

 

For starters Kashyap has asked Ranbir to read Gyan Prakash’s book.

Says a source, “It is very important for Ranbir to get a hang of the period.He plays a real-life character, a hero of the masses in the 1960s. So this won’t just be Ranbir’s first period film but also his first biographical character.”

 

Ranbir, we hear, is all set to get into the mood of the era. He has asked for time until October to be fully acquainted with the character.

 

In an interview Anurag Kashyap had said, “Bombay Velvet is a thriller based on real incidents. It’s an idea that was developed over the last five years by several minds including the history professor Gyan Prakash. I’ve never handled this kind of budget before. I want to be sure of the script.”

 

Bombay Velvet pairs Ranbir Kapoor with Anushka Sharma for the first time. The shooting starts in October. Ranbir and Kashyap chose not to reply.