THE LIFE & TIMES OF RANVEER SINGH
The actor’s personal and cinematic trajectory...
Two years after introducing Anushka Sharma, filmmaker Aditya Chopra banks on another newcomer in Ranveer Singh with
Band Baaja Baaraat. The move pays off and Singh is signed on by YRF Talent. Chopra continues to be Ranveer’s “number one guy” till date. “That’s not to say he’s always right,” says Ranveer. “But I know he wants the best for me. There was a time when I knew nothing. Now I can reason with him and offer a different perspective. It is a collaborative decision.”
In 2013, Ranveer finally enters the coveted Rs 100 crore club with the star-crossed romance Goliyon Ki
Raasleela... Ram-Leela. It’s the beginning of a successful partnership with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and also the film in which romance blossoms with his co-star Deepika Padukone. “She has amazing grace and poise and she manages to convey and express a lot without having to do much,” he says of her.
Ranveer proves he’s game for anything. He dances dressed in a Krrish costume in the middle of a busy intersection in Mumbai as part of Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Bang Bang Dare challenge’ (2014); signs up as brand ambassador for condom brand Durex and later that year joins his
Gunday co-star Arjun Kapoor to have himself ridiculed in AIB Knockout. The roast goes viral on YouTube and courts controversy for abusive and vulgar language.
After Gunday, stars in another multi-starrer ensemble film Dil Dhadakne Do. “I’m never insecure about sharing space with another actor,” says Ranveer. “I’m not a greedy actor and don’t have a false sense of self-importance.”
In another sign that he’s here to make a lasting impression, Ranveer becomes one of the few Hindi actors to expose his bottom briefly and strut in Playboy underwear in mentor Aditya Chopra’s Befikre (2016), a romantic comedy which fails to live up to the hype.
Has a blockbuster 2018. It begins with Padmaavat, his highest grosser so far and ends with Simmba, his first solo superhit. In between, his wedding with Deepika Padukone makes headlines.
For his upcoming film Gully Boy,
Ranveer plays a rapper, a part he says he was born to play. He also praises his peers generously, calling co-star Alia Bhatt a “phenomenal actor” who is “very confident and natural”.
As part of a Bollywood delegation that met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a discussion on nation-building, Ranveer takes a groupie with the PM. Later shares a photo of a “jaadoo ki jhappi” with the PM on Instagram.