a teetotaller, happens to drink one night, and
starts dancing. I performed and danced my
heart out. Such was the intensity that I puked
at the end. The filmmaker thought it was sheer
brilliance. He said, ‘Kitni detail mein socha hai iss
ladke ne (laughs).’Do you feel that at the beginning of your
career the perception of being ‘quirky’,
‘over the top’ came in the way of people
taking you seriously as an actor?
Maybe some people think so even today. Usually
light-hearted and jovial individuals are not
taken seriously. However, I am a serious and
intense man; a deep thinker. I choose to reveal
that side of me on the screen. In person, I try
to be cheerful. According to me, we live in
maha Kalyug. The world around us is dark, and
the agony of existence bears down on people;
everyone is fighting some battle or the other,
and thus, it’s important for me to spread
happiness. But I understand that some people in
their myopic gaze may believe that that is all
there is to me. I hope my performances have
proven otherwise.Has the industry, over time, opened up
to outsiders?
Yes! Aditya Chopra pioneered a phase where new
talent was being selected on the basis of merit
as opposed to legacy. I am proud of that because
looking at examples like mine, outsiders will be
hopeful. The passionate ones will stand out and
make it. At the same time, I will say that there has
never been a better time for outsiders to make it;
opportunities are vast.What qualities set you apart from
contemporaries?
I attach value to characterisation. I’ve strived to
be recognised as a versatile performer from the
beginning. I have played a variety of charactersYou’re one of the most bankable actors
today. What does stardom mean to you?
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to
be a performer, and today, stardom is its
by-product. When youngsters seek my advice,
the first question I ask them is, ‘Are you
passionate about acting?’ or ‘Are you lured
by the glitz of stardom?’ Stardom to me is
empowering. You have the ability to spread smiles
and cheer. It goes without saying, it comes with
a certain amount of responsibility. There are
negatives too, but the upside compensates, and
you learn to take it in your stride.Getting to the top hasn’t been easy.
What have the days of struggle
taught you?
Those years have given me some of the fondest
memories of my life. Things are flying at the
moment, but I will always remember the time
when there was none of it; when I used to be
staring at the bottom of the barrel not knowing
whether that phone is ever going to ring, or if
I will ever get a break. Through the harsh lessons,
disappointments, humiliation, rejection, one has
to find something within him that keeps him
going. For me, they were two things. One, I was
passionate about acting, and wasn’t pursuing it
for money or fame. Two, self-belief; I had to keep
telling myself, ‘You’re good, you have to believe so
because if you’re good and persistent, something
will happen.’ Today, I value every opportunity.Tell us about the one audition that you’re
never going to forget?
After Band Baaja Baaraat, a prominent filmmaker
was auditioning me for a significant part in his
project. The scene was that a character who isM
inutes before the clock strikes midnight, Ranveer
Singh arrives to meet us at a five-star in Mumbai.
As expected, there is a spring in his step (yes,
even at that hour) as he sprints across an empty
corridor, (we follow, of course) and soon, we
land up at the hotel’s open air terrace. Why this
location of all spots, we wonder? He answers the
question just as we are set to begin the interview.
“Hum chalenge to dimaag chalega,” he says, and
proceeds to take laps on the terrace. In the
next 50 minutes, Singh takes us through his
professional and personal journeys. It’s like being
caught in the middle of a blizzard, but the only way to understand his
enigma is to be at the epicentre of his eccentricities.“USUALLY LIGHT-HEARTED AND JOVIAL
INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
HOWEVER, I AM A SERIOUS AND
INTENSE MAN; A DEEP THINKER.”
THE BIG STORY