“Suited-booted” (as we say in Indian parlance) and also “hat-ted,” the biggest of the millennial stars, Ranveer Singh (only one of his six films in four years was a flop, but his work was loved in it), cuts a jaunty figure as he strolls into a make-up room at the Yash Raj Studios for the interview about his latest Yashraj-a-thon, “Kill Dil.”
He doffs his hat, to exhibit a pate prepared for his role of Bajirao in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao Mastani,” and laughingly adds, “The right dress and makeover of what your character’s going to look like are important. For me, it starts flowing from there for me – the voice, the energy and the body language.”
Singh likes to prep. “Locking myself up in a room and thinking about how I must speak and behave when I am a strong, silent Maratha warrior like Bajirao is important.
“In my forthcoming film, Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Dil Dhadakne Do,’ I am largely myself. ‘Kill Dil’ is in-between — my look is something I personally did not like, but it is in keeping with my character and at the end of the day that’s what is really important. I will do anything for the character!” he tells India-West.
As he puts it, “My bulbous nose stands out in ‘Kill Dil’ because there is no moustache to draw attention away from it! I have a ‘katora’ (a cup)-cut floppy hair and since my character is a light-hearted, childish one and a softie, they also told me to put on some weight. And it worked and I felt soft, so people are going to buy the character. On the other hand, Ali Zafar’s look is hard and bad-ass serious!”
Nothing in the film, Singh stresses, is out of character. “The film sticks to its story and chugs along without detours. You will love the film just for that. Even the music is not for topping charts or being a pop album, but for two or three weeks but for the story, which is why my favorite songs have changed from the time I only heard them on audio because I watched the film.”
And this is where he says that he blends his natural inclination towards “method” acting with the invaluable spontaneity he learnt from Bhansali while working on “Goliyon Ki Rasleela RamLeela.”
“I think it is more a function of the characterization — though there is a school that feels that getting deep into character, even physically, is using gimmicks,” he says. “They would rather actors be honest about what they are and emote. I think all this varies from film to film and director to director.”
Singh does not get excited by repetitious actors. “I may like what they do, but for me it is infinitely more exciting when I do not know what to expect, like a Daniel [Day Lewis] doing ‘Gangs of New York’ and ‘My Left Foot’ where you felt you were watching the character rather than him. The audience should not feel it is the same person, which is what I have tried to do through ‘Lootera,’ ‘…RamLeela,’ ‘Gunday’ and my other films.
“I want to try and be a chameleon, and all actors who are chameleons excite me. I want to explore myself as an actor and I am very happy with the films I have got and about working with some of the best talents among directors.”
But isn’t it the order of the day not to reveal the looks of an actor in advance nowadays? “Bhansali-sir has advised me to keep my head covered, otherwise people will get tired of my bald look,” he quips, but adds, “I think that revealing or hiding things is a function of a movie’s marketing.
Like my home banner, Yash Raj Films, likes to be quite secretive and does not allow anyone into shoots. But, with the rapid evolution of social media and the online press, everything has changed as there are more platforms to fill. So there is an emerging school of thought that merges with the old-time traditional — that if you believe in whatever material you have, you put it out as soon as possible, for anyway it has to be consumed.”
Speaking about “Kill Dil,” Singh calls it a “fat-free” entertainer, the fat representing unwanted or irrelevant add-ons. “Hamein scale nahin dikhani aur aaju-baaju nahin bhatakna nahin hai (No translations, please). It gives you no time to think but stays with the characters.
“Like the action scene does not happen like it did in ‘Gunday,’ which was designed as a commercial spectacle and wherein we were presenting items like big action, followed by a big song — and each time, we see them coming. Here, it is like a part of the story’s progress that happens to be an action sequence. In ‘Kill Dil,’ the humor is predominant alongside the romance and action.”
Singh is happy that the audience has evolved enough to watch every kind of film today. “I think that 2010, when I made my debut with ‘Band Baaja Baaraat,’ was a watershed year as it saw films of all kinds being made and accepted besides the popcorn entertainers that we will always want. There is space for all, and that’s good for films as an art form.”
After this, Singh settles down into a long monologue about his co-star Govinda, whom he always worshipped as an actor, and now is stunned as much by his persona as much as his talent (see separate article).
We finally ask the question we wanted to — does he have a dance with Govinda in the film? “No, yaar,” he makes a wry face and says, “As I said, the film remains on track with its story and so this never happened, though my fans wanted it!”
Not even in an end-credits video? And Singh chuckles, “Now, that’s a good idea!”