‘MY BEST WORK IS YET TO COME’

Ranveer Singh didn’t have a release last year but he seems to be making up for his absence with backtoback films in 2018

T hroughout 2017, he was busy shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati but Ranveer Singh didn’t have a release. However, he isn’t losing sleep. “If you ask me, ‘Did you dream of all of this when you imagined becoming an actor?’ I would say, ‘I had imagined certain things but it has reached a level which is beyond my wildest imaginations’,” says the actor, who has a packed 2018, thanks to films with Zoya Akhtar, Kabir Khan, Rohit Shetty and, of course, Padmavati.

This year, your lineup looks solid.

I am very excited. I keep saying this to myself and always manifest it as well that my best work — and my best time — is yet to come. Thankfully, with God’s grace, everything that I manifest and attract comes to me, so, I believe deeply in the law of attraction. Whatever you manifest and what you really wish for from the bottom of your heart, you will get it if you work hard enough. And here I am, in 2018, with diverse roles and collaborating with different film-makers.

And your New Year looks set to start with Padmavati…

Yes, I already have a movie up for release which I am sure will be very exciting — for the Hindi as well as global filmgoing audience. It’s a sort of once-in-a-lifetime magnum opus. In January itself, I start Gully Boy for which I collaborate with Zoya, who is very dear and special in my life as a collaborator, person as well as a director. Also, it’s my first collaboration on a fulllength feature film with Alia [Bhatt], who I rate very high as an actor. She is certainly among the best actors in today’s day-and-age. I believe she is on her way towards greatness.

Going by your love for the ’90s films and your energetic avatar, you must be looking forward to teaming up with Rohit?

True, but I am very nervous too because it is not easy to perform in mainstream films and it’s not easy to make one either. It could be called my biggest solo outing. It is my first ‘in and as’ film. I have admired Rohit sir’s work for a very long time now. Then we also have Karan Johar as the producer. It’s a genre or brand of cinema that I thoroughly love. Of course, socially, I interact with people who are the ‘multiplex audience’, but my heart is ‘massy’ and that’s actually what I get a huge kick out of.

Also, you are going to play Kapil Dev in ’83. It must be special ?

The story of ’83 is incredible. Wherever I go, people talk [to me] about Kapil Dev. They keep telling me that they can’t wait to see the film. It’s only now, after having been committed to the project for a few months, that I’ve actually understood the magnitude of the incident — the 1983 world cup win. It was a huge moment for all the Indians as a country, especially in terms of our sporting history.

Are you happy that all of it is going to happen in 2018?

I don’t actually stop to think, but now that I am talking about all my films, I am realising what a massive year t is going to be. I usually move o fast that I don’t stop to hink. Now that I am on a holiday, I will have some time to think, and reflect on things. But I think I am entering a phase where I have got a lot to give and I intend to do a lot more. I will also be taking bigger risks. I don’t know what I have done to deserve it. I guess I have just been honest with my work and good to people, and I have my mother’s blessings.

Be it trade or audiences, they expect a lot from your films. Do you ever feel pressurised?

I would not term it as ‘pressure’ as it has a negative connotation. I look at it as responsibility. And my first responsibility is towards people whose lives are directly connected with mine — my family, friends, team and fans, who contribute to my life in a direct way. I am answerable to them as well.

Ranveer will be seen in Simmba (above) and in Padmavati (below)