Film programmer Deepti D’Cunha recently shared a delightful memory from the 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival. She crossed paths with ‘Dune’ director Denis Villeneuve. At the time, Villeneuve had just watched his first Hindi film on a flight ‘Raajneeti‘. He told Deepti he was impressed by the political drama’s ensemble cast, but one actor stood out to him: Ranbir Kapoor. Villeneuve praised Ranbir as a wonderful actor and expressed curiosity about him.
Denis Villeneuve impressed by Ranbir
Deepti shared this memory on X and a picture of Villeneuve’s autograph in an old film festival catalogue. She recalled their warm conversation and noted how surreal it was to see him now directing massive Hollywood blockbusters. ‘Raajneeti’, directed by Prakash Jha, featured a powerhouse cast, but clearly, Ranbir left an early impression on the future sci-fi visionary.
which happened to be #Raajneeti and was very impressed by #RanbirKapoor and wanted to know more about him..He said he is wonderful actor and stood out among such an ensemble cast. A fond memory of chatting with him & amazing now to see Denis helming such huge Hollywood films!
— Deepti DCunha (@deemelinda) April 3, 2025
