‘Not a competitive actor, don’t subscribe to one-upmanship’

Ranveer answers the queries about on-screen competition with wife Deepika

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh said he isn’t competitive by nature and doesn’t believe in one-upmanship.

Singh made his first media appearance at the ‘Filmfare’ press conference on July 28, two days after an FIR was filed against him over his bare-bodied photoshoot for an interna- tional magazine.

Best known for his roles in movies like ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Padmaavat’, ‘Gully Boy’ and ‘83’, the actor has kept mum on the controversy so far and similar was the situation at the media event in the evening.

The usual media question and answer session were not held as Singh only responded to queries posed by ‘Filmfare’ editor Jitesh Pillaai.

On being asked about an on-screen competition with his actor-wife Deepika Padukone, Singh said he isn’t competitive at all.

“On screen, definitely not. I am not a competitive actor at all. I have a theatre background and they teach you at a very early stage in your training. Some of the foundations of that kind of training are constituted by the ethos of collaborativeness. What I have learnt and not just in my training but from the 12 years that I spent acting in films is that you are only as good as your co-actor. It takes two to tango,” the 37-year-old actor said.

Singh does not believe in one-upmanship and upstaging, he said, adding that there were few instances where his co-stars have tried to ‘hog the limelight’.

“I don’t subscribe to oneupmanship, upstaging. I have had, unfortunately, or fortunately, co-actor experiences where they have tried oneupmanship and trying to upstage and hog the limelight in the frame as they say. I don’t subscribe to that. I think it is very defeating. Filmmaking is teamwork and scene work is a collaboration between actors. It’s like jugalbandi. It is like give and take. On the flip side, I have also experienced the good side. With the actors who are so secure, so giving and my wife is certainly one of them,” the actor said.

Singh, who has performed on stage on many occasions, will for the first time host the 67th edition of ‘Filmfare Awards’, to be held on August 30 at the ‘Jio World Convention Centre’ in Mumbai.

He will co-host the popular award show with his actor-friend Arjun Kapoor, who Singh described as a ‘filmi encyclopedia’.

“It is the first time I am hosting. I have danced a few times. Performing on stage is very different from hosting. According to me, hosting takes ten times more work, 10 times the amount of time,” he said.

Singh’s photoshoot has started a debate on what constitutes obscenity.

The actor is facing an FIR in Mumbai following a complaint from an NGO alleging that he had ‘hurt the sentiments of women in general and insulted their modesty through his photographs’. PTI*

During a media appearance, the actor also mentioned that there were few instances where his co-stars tried to ‘hog the limelight’