Ranbir Kapoor apologises for Dussehra slip with Rockstar lyric

The 44-year-old actor was speaking at a Kolkata event on the eve of Dussehra when a line meant to celebrate the triumph of good over evil came out the other way. Social media immediately picked up the clip.

What Ranbir actually meant to say

At the film’s Chennai event, Kapoor addressed the slip directly and kept it light. He told the audience he had a slip of the tongue, then spelled out the line he intended:

“Burai chahe kitni bhi taaqatwar kyun na ho, aakhir mein jeet sachchai aur achhai ki hogi.”

The translation: no matter how powerful evil may be, truth and goodness will ultimately prevail. It is exactly the Dussehra message, and he repeated his apology right after.

He then quoted his own Rockstar song with AR Rahman to laugh at the mess: “Jo bhi main kehna chahoon, barbaad karein alfaaz mere” — whatever I want to say, my words ruin it.

Why a festival line matters here

For a film built on the Ramayana, festival messaging is not background noise. Dussehra is the day the epic’s core idea — good defeats evil — is meant to land. A star on that stage is also selling the film’s emotional hook, so one misspoken line can feel like fumbling the film’s own message.

The team has already had one naming wobble. At a pre-release event in Hyderabad, producer-distributor Dil Raju praised the leading man as “Ranveer Singh” before correcting himself to “Ranbir Kapoor.” That became another online talking point.

Kapoor’s response — a quick, self-aware apology with humour — should shorten the moment. It also shows how festival stagecraft now works: audiences watch the clip, not the whole speech, so one line is the message.

The real spotlight is still ahead

The bigger test arrives on November 5, when Ramayana releases worldwide. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey, Vivek Oberoi, Rakul Preet Singh, Anupam Kher, Faisal Malik and Kunal Kapoor, among others.

• The slip: A Kolkata Dussehra remark appeared to flip the festival’s meaning.
• The fix: Kapoor clarified his intended line at the Chennai event and apologised.
• The quote: He borrowed a Rockstar lyric to shrug off the goof-up.
• The date: Ramayana opens worldwide on November 5.

Source: India Today