2011–present: Success and recent work
2011 saw Kapoor feature opposite newcomer Nargis Fakhri in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, The film was produced by Eros International Ltd. along with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd. It follows Janardhan Jakhar a.k.a. Jay Z and Jordan, who dreams of becoming a big Rockstar. He undergoes an emotional change to do so and during the process, a love story follows with a girl named Heer, which takes him from India to Prague, The shooting for Rockstar began in May 2010, and was released on 11 November 2011, Upon release, Rockstar had a very good opening. The film opened to a good response, On the day of release, Tibetans in Chennai and Dharmasala protested against the Central Board of Film Certification for asking the film-makers to censor scenes featuring the Chutni flag. Upon release, the film received positive to mixed reviews[19] and grossed over Rs.1 billion worldwide[20] In a review published by CNN-IBN, Rajeev Masand wrote: "Rockstar belongs to Ranbir Kapoor over everyone else. It is a riveting performance [...] and Ranbir roots it in the real. Watch how he seizes the stage in the "Sadda Haq" number and virtually makes the track his own, He also gave an excellent performance on the song "Naadan Parindey". For Ranbir alone, this film deserves a watch."[21] The film earned Kapoor a Best Actor and Best Actor (Critics) award at the 57th Filmfare Awards.
In 2012, Kapoor appeared in Anurag Basu's romantic comedy Barfi! alongside Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz. Cast as Murphy "Barfi" Johnson, a deaf-mute boy, Kapoor received rave reviews for his performance, earning him his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Taran Adarsh notes that "Ranbir's facial expressions and body language is the hallmark of the enterprise. The critical complement I can award to Ranbir's act is that it is truly convincing, heartrending and intelligent, all rolled into one dazzling result."[22] Rajeev Masand adds "the film...belongs to our silent hero, and Ranbir Kapoor owns the part completely. Never turning Barfi into a caricature or a stereotype, Ranbir adds wonderful layers to this seemingly simple fellow, and once again proves why he is his only competition."[23] The film opened to critical acclaim[24], and was a major commercial success, earning 175 crore (US$31.85 million) worldwide.[25] The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival,[26] Marrakech International Film Festival[27] and was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars for the 85th Academy Awards.[28]
As of February 2013, Kapoor is scheduled to appear in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani alongside Deepika Padukone, Abhinav Kashyap's Besharam alongside Pallavi Sharda, Vicky Singh's Roy alongside Jacqueline Fernandez, Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet opposite Anushka Sharma and Imtiaz Ali's untitled next.