Ranbir Kapoor made his silver screen debut in the 2007 Indian Hindi-language romance film ‘Saawariya’ directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film received a lukewarm response from critics and was a box office disaster. Nevertheless, Kapoor bagged several awards, including the ‘Filmfare Award’ and ‘IIFA Award,’ for his performance in the film. Following his debut, he went on to star in films such as ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ (2008), ‘Wake Up Sid’ (2009), ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ (2009), ‘Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year’ (2009), ‘Raajneeti’ (2010), and ‘Anjaana Anjaani’ (2010). In 2011, he played the role of ‘Janardhan "Jordan" Jakhar’ in the Imtiaz Ali-directed Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film ‘Rockstar.’ While the reviews for the film were somewhere between positive and mixed, it managed to gross over ₹108.7 crores on a budget of ₹60 crores. Kapoor also won many awards, including the 2 ‘Filmfare Awards,’ for his portrayal of Janardhan "Jordan" Jakhar in the film. He next starred as ‘Murphy "Barfi" Johnson’ in the 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film ‘Barfi!’ directed by Anurag Basu. The film received massive acclaim upon release and was selected as India’s official entry for the ‘Academy Awards.’ It also performed well at the box office and grossed over ₹174.73 crores on a budget of ₹50 crores.
He was next seen in films like ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013), ‘Besharam’ (2013), ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ (2014), ‘PK’ (2014), ‘Roy’ (2015), ‘Bombay Velvet’ (2015), ‘Tamasha’ (2015), ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ (2016), ‘Jagga Jasoos’ (2017), Love per Square Foot’ (2018), and ‘Bucket List’ (2018). In 2018, he portrayed ‘Sanjay Dutt’ in the Rajkumar Hirani-directed Indian Hindi-language biographical film ‘Sanju.’ The film was praised by critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over ₹586.85 crores on a budget of ₹96 crores. Kapoor also won the ‘Filmfare Award’ for his performance in the film. In 2022, he starred as ‘Shamshera/Balli’ in the Karan Malhotra-directed Indian Hindi-language period action film ‘Shamshera.’ The film failed to impress the critics and ultimately tanked at the box office. Kapoor was last seen in the 2022 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action-adventure film ‘Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva’ directed by Ayan Mukerji. The film opened to a mixed reception and grossed over ₹431 crores on a budget of ₹375−400 crores.