Man of the hour

Waiting for Ranbir Kapoor to meet me, I wonder if he’s going to be in a jacket. Whether it’s an image from a movie or his offscreen appearances, I can’t imagine him in anything else. Five minutes later, we are sitting opposite each other, and there he is, in a jacket. As I point it out, Kapoor smiles. “The thing is, I am terribly conscious about my arms. I’m so lanky that wearing a jacket makes people think I’ve some meat underneath all that bulky fabric.” In the days preceding the meeting, friends, taken by gossip columns and his flamboyant roles, had warned me that he could be anything from an incorrigible flirt to a brash heir of the Kapoor legacy. In reality, through our 20-minute interview, the 32-yearold remains incredibly polite and funny, unperturbed by the entourage milling about him, and thoroughly modest about his sense of style. Not to mention less than half hour offschedule, mildly miraculous for a Bollywood star.

Tag Heuer’s new ambassador, Kapoor is in the Capital to launch its global campaign ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’. At Greater Noida’s Buddh International Circuit, best known as the venue of the Indian Grand Prix, the stage—or shall we say the track—is abuzz. Cheerleaders have gathered for final rehearsals while professional r acers are swooshing by at deafening decibels. The actor, who is s cheduled t o make an airborne arrival into the event in a Paramotor, is thrilled about his new r ole as ambassador to the Swiss watchmakers. “As a child, I remember trying to sketch the Tag Heuer logo because I was so obsessed with it,” says Kapoor, “and my first watch was a Grand Prix edition from the very brand, a gift from my parents.” Following Shah Rukh Khan, whose