He rose to prominence with the coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid, the romantic comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (both 2009), and the political drama Raajneeti (2010).

Following a hiatus, he had further commercial success in the fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022) and the action drama Animal (2023), with the latter emerging as his highest-grossing release and winning him a fourth Best Actor award at Filmfare.

[6][10] After completing his tenth standard examinations, he worked as an assistant director to his father on the film Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999), during which he developed a closer bond with him.

College of Commerce and Economics,[6] Kapoor relocated to New York City to learn filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts and subsequently pursued method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

[20] Despite the commercial failure of Saawariya, Kapoor was contracted by Yash Raj Films for a primary role in the Siddharth Anand-directed romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

[21] The film was his first commercial success, in which his role was that of a womaniser who is romantically involved with three women, played by Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba, and Deepika Padukone, at different stages of his life.

[27] Kapoor next starred opposite Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, a slapstick comedy from director Rajkumar Santoshi, that emerged as the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2009.

The film, which starred Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Katrina Kaif and Sarah Thompson in prominent roles, was inspired by the Indian epic Mahabharata and Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather.

[30] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India reviewed: "The film finally belongs to Ranbir Kapoor who perfects the art of minimalism—and literally grows before your eyes—as the simmering volcano that cannot be held back, once it erupts.

"[42][43] Following an item number in the children's film Chillar Party (2011), Kapoor took on the role of Janardhan "Jordan" Jakhar in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar (2011), a drama that follows the journey of an aspiring musician from a humble background to international stardom.

[53] Ronnie Scheib of Variety praised him for successfully channeling Chaplin in "tone and affect", and Raja Sen of Rediff.com wrote that "he does very strongly indeed with this Chaplin-tribute role, bestowing his character with heart every step of the way".

[20] He achieved further success in 2013 when he reunited with director Ayan Mukerji for the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani co-starring Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin, and Aditya Roy Kapoor.

[68][69][70] After a year-long absence from the screen, Kapoor featured as a mysterious thief in Roy (2015), a romantic thriller which critic Sarita Tanwar described as a "boring, exhausting and pretentious" film.

[71] The series of financial failures continued with his next release, the Anurag Kashyap-directed crime drama Bombay Velvet, based on the historian Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables, which also starred Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar.

[74] Ritika Bhatia of Business Standard found Kapoor's part to be a departure from his previous roles, writing that he "does test the waters with methodical sincerity but his portrayal lacks depth on occasion".

"[81] Kapoor's career prospect briefly improved in 2016 when he took on the lead role of an aspiring musician in Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).

The romantic drama, co-starring Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai, tells the story of unrequited love, and proved to be one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of the year.

[87] Production on the project was plagued with difficulties—principal photography began in 2014, but the release date was pushed back several times owing to changes in the script, multiple reshoots, and rumours of animosity between Kapoor and co-star Katrina Kaif (the couple had broken-up before they finished filming).

[88][89] Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost considered the film to be "a laudable experiment that zigzags off course", and while praising Kapoor's dedication to his part, criticised the decision to cast him as a teenage schoolboy.

[93][94] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV thought that despite dramatic liberties, the film had successfully portrayed Dutt's complexity, and wrote that Kapoor "pulls out the stops in astonishingly effective ways, subsuming his personality into that of the protagonist".

[95] Uday Bhatia of Mint was more critical for making Dutt too sympathetic despite his misdeeds, and wrote that Kapoor's "imitation (astonishing at times) takes over the performance".

[114][115] Keen to break away from his on-screen image, Kapoor accepted the role of a violent man with a troubled relationship with his father in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's action drama Animal.

[118][119][120] The Guardian described Kapoor's role as "one of the vilest in cinema history",[121] but a reviewer for News18 added that he "breathes life into this undesirable character with a lot of charisma and swag".

[124] Kapoor will next play Rama in Nitesh Tiwari's two-part adaptation of the epic Ramayana and will reteam with Bhansali in the romantic drama Love & War, co-starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.

[149] Along with the chartered accountant Bimal Parekh, Kapoor acquired ownership rights in 2014 for the Mumbai-based football team of the Indian Super League, named Mumbai City FC.

[152] In 2016, he featured in the documentary series Girls with Goals, to create awareness about and raise funds for YUWA, an all-girls football team in the state of Jharkhand.

[154] Kapoor supports the empowerment of the girl child and is the goodwill ambassador of Shabana Azmi's Mijwan Welfare Society, an NGO which helps empower women.

[158] In 2013, he participated in an auction on eBay, where the highest bidder gets an opportunity to interact with him; the proceeds were donated to Save the Children, a non-profit organisation that raised funds for flood affected households in Uttarakhand.

[159] That same year, he appeared alongside other celebrities in a commercial, produced by the National Film Development Corporation of India, to create awareness about children's education.

[164] Born into a family of popular actors, Kapoor faced the media spotlight from a young age; Hindustan Times published that "he was always a star kid from whom everyone had great expectations".