Ranbir recalls Diwali tap as Ramayana hits ₹221.05 cr worldwide

With Diwali near, Ranbir Kapoor has been sharing a childhood memory that has resurfaced with new meaning now that he is playing Lord Rama. On the inaugural episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show, he appeared with his mother Neetu Kapoor and sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and recalled the only time his father, Rishi Kapoor, physically disciplined him.

He was eight or nine years old. During the Diwali puja at RK Studios, he walked into the temple area wearing his slippers. It was a lapse Rishi Kapoor did not let pass. The veteran actor reacted immediately and gave his son a sharp tap on the head.

A rare show of discipline

Ranbir remembered it as a one-off. In his words, Mujhe ek hi baar bohot zor ki padi thi — the only time his father hit him. He added that his father was deeply religious and particular about customs, which is why the slippers in the mandir became a moment of correction rather than anger.

Rishi Kapoor passed away in April 2020 after a battle with cancer. Ranbir has often said the loss changed how he looks at family and faith, and this Diwali story has become one of those small memories that now carries a heavier emotional weight for fans too.

Ramayana: Part 1 opens with momentum

The memory is circulating in a strong week for Ranbir. Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part 1 released worldwide on November 5, 2026, with Ranbir as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Rakul Preet Singh as Surpanakha and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. The two-part adaptation has been watched closely for its scale and visual effects.

Early box-office estimates, as reported from Sacnilk, put the opening numbers at:

• Day 1 India net: ₹64.85 crore (November 5)
• Day 2 India net: ₹48.05 crore (November 6)
• Two-day India net: ₹112.90 crore
• India gross: ₹134.80 crore
• Overseas: ₹86.25 crore
• Worldwide gross: ₹221.05 crore

The day-one figure is strong, and the second-day hold of ₹48.05 crore net suggests the film has found an audience beyond the opening rush. With the full weekend still to unfold, the larger test will be whether a mythological epic can sustain momentum through the week.

Why the memory lands differently now

The RK Studios Diwali anecdote is not just a celebrity recollection. It connects Ranbir’s own family tradition to the character he is now playing on screen. A boy who once got a tap for forgetting temple decorum is now leading an epic about dharma, devotion and discipline. That contrast is exactly the kind of full-circle arc Hindi film fans enjoy.

For audiences heading to cinemas this Diwali week, the film arrives with both scale and an emotional hook: the actor’s personal history now sits alongside one of Indian cinema’s most ambitious mythological retellings.

Source: The Times of India