Ranveer Singh is the Amma of Bollywood. Like Mata Amritanandamayi, he gives darshan to even unfamiliar hacks like yours truly with a mammoth, bone-crushing hug. My first introduction to him, however, is from behind the closed door of his make-up room at Yashraj Films. You can hear his booming voice and feel the energy across the wall. Inside, he is sprawled on the couch with a cup of coffee, a handful of lozenges and Dabur Honitus cough syrup for company. “Bad cough, like me?” you ask. “No, I speak so much that my throat is like ‘Bro! Take a chill pill’,” he responds.
As you begin posing the questions, Singh seems to be restless, distracted, not quite meeting your gaze, answering your questions with his eyes closed, or staring intently into the space. Even as you wonder if the interview will turn out any good, he surprises you with his attentiveness. A few coughs and Singh quickly walks across the room to fetch you a bottle of water and thoughtfully shares his lozenges. Is Singh the new, likeable star on the block? I am likely to be very biased after this encounter.
Between admiring the “killer, cool” recording app on my mobile phone and distracted by the Chelsea vs. Manchester City English Premier League match on TV, the football buff spoke to The Hindu about being Befikre when it comes to matters of the heart.
The word befikre would mean carefree, footloose, fancy free… Do you think this phrase defines love for this generation?
There certainly has been a generational shift. When I interact with kids who are 17-18 and when they show me their Tinder profiles and messages they exchange, I am a little shocked by how open-minded they are. They are very clear in their take on romantic relationships. It is far less traditional than what used to be when I was that age. I believe they are an evolved generation. Communication technology has changed things; it has had a major effect in the way romantic relationships are defined in this day and age. I am far more traditional. In my foundation years, we didn’t have mobile phones and social media.
So should I assume that the film will talk to these 16-17-18-year-olds?
That’s the brilliance of Adi [Aditya] Chopra — while the film seems to be targeted at the youngsters, it speaks to everyone, even kids. I know that there is a certain level of apprehension because there is so much of kissing in the promos. I had a tiff with Adi that you have such a wholesome film, an endearing entertainer, then why did you cut these promos?
I think he didn’t want to give anything away, he wanted to keep the promos very surface, but it really is a very charming, happy, refreshing film. That’s why we have got a U/A certificate from the Censors. A kiss is not a bad thing. It is as much an expression of love and warmth as a hug.
Labon ka karobaar was an attempt to normalise the kiss. The censors recognised that. This film is kosher for all kinds of people to watch. It is universally humorous and entertaining, a little romantic.
But how many kisses are there in the film finally?
I wouldn’t know. I lost count after a point. There are so many.
Love stories have usually been the most bankable for Bollywood. How does Befikre push the envelope when it comes to the formula? Does it at all?
That is one aspect about Befikre that excites me the most. The vision of the filmmaker is to make a true blue Indian romantic comedy. The thing with Hindi cinema is that when there is a romcom, it always ends up becoming not a rom-com but a love story. The interval will have some conflict which will all precipitate in the second half. By the third act, somebody or the other will be dealing with a heavy emotion or there is a heightened sense of drama.
Befikre doesn’t fall into those trappings. That’s what makes it so new. It’s not as though there are no emotions, not as if you won’t connect with the characters. Those emotions are there but are not revelled in. It’s also the riskiest aspect of the film. Is the Indian audience evolved enough to accept it? Do they need the dose of heavy drama and emotions to feel satiated? Or will they come out saying ‘ ye kya tha , it was only timepass’?
The whole notion of love, in a lot of early films, till the mid-90s, used to be about rebellion: against class, caste, religious divides; against family and society. What are you rebelling against in Befikre ?
I think it is a rebellion against being judgmental. We judge people too easily for the choices they make: who to love, how to love, how to express. Love is love. There is no place for judgment in it. That’s what we are trying to propagate. Be Befikre , don’t judge.
Going by the promos, I thought the film would be rebellious by being non-apologetic about sex…
It is non-apologetic about sex, but it is not harping on that. That’s matter of fact. That is a given. The Tinder generation is certainly not apologetic about it.
So do you think the high passion and romance of a Raj Kapoor-Nargis or even SRK-Kajol would work these days?
Of course! I have been a part of those films. Lootera, [ Goliyon Ki Rasleela ] Ramleela, Bajirao Mastani… My biggest hits have been passionate love stories. There is a large section of audience that appreciates them. There are only a couple of generations that have grown up with mobile phone technology. The rest of us filmgoers are from times which were much more traditional.
So having done all these films, if I call you the loverboy of this generation would you like being in that zone?
I would like to switch it up. I can’t do the same thing again and again. I need to keep myself on my toes creatively. I need to challenge myself. I need to be part of different genres. I loved that I had two very diverse characters in 2013: Lootera and Ramleela . One was a very subdued, introverted, guarded conman and the other was this rambunctious, flamboyant lover. One completely closed; the other totally open.
In 2015 I was playing a young, diffident, urban, coming-of-age character in Dil Dhadakne Do, and then on the back of that was Peshwa Bajirao. After that Dharam in Befikre is just what the doctor ordered. Then to switch that up completely and play the anti-hero in my next film [Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati ]. I couldn’t ask for more.
Also I don’t want the audience to start looking at me in one particular way. I want the filmmakers also to believe that I can play any kind of character in any genre.
It has always been in my head to be known as a versatile actor. Such actors excite me the most. My favourite, for instance, is Daniel Day Lewis. I want to be part of different genres, work with different filmmakers, do different characters.
Having said that, is there anything you haven’t tried out and want to?
An out-and-out action and an out-and-out comedy.
Are you into watching love stories at all?
If I were to enter a DVD store I won’t go for a romcom or a love story at first. It’s odd and ironic that I say that since I have been a part of these films all my life as an actor. I do watch all kinds of films, but it won’t be the first one I choose.
What is your kind of stuff then?
I like thrillers and dramas the most. Lately I have been feeding on provocative material. I guess I am going through a weird phase. Films of Gaspar Noe and Lars Von Trier.
Von Trier’s The Idiots has been the most depressing viewing I have gone through but Dancer In The Dark with Bjork was lovely…
Did you weep buckets? You did, didn’t you?
Gaspar Noe has not been my cup of tea…
Why? I feel he gets a lot of [needless] criticism for being provocative for no good reason. I guess these are hard guys…
You know Von Trier is scared of flying…
He is scared of flying, he is scared of stairs… he has so many phobias…
Can you see yourself doing such far-out stuff?
I am a very mainstream guy myself. I have grown up on mainstream cinema. It was Taxi Driver that turned the tide for me. I started watching all kinds of films and there was no turning back. But as an artiste I like to be a part of films that can encompass a broad spectrum of audience, that reach out to and entertain a wide spectrum.
But what if Lars Von Trier asks you to play a role?
I will do it, I will do it. Just for the experience.
Adi Chopra, who never talks to the press, who is so invisible — you have worked with him. Tell us something about him. Who is this man?
He is inaccessible to a lot of people, even if you are not from the media. That’s the way he likes to be. He is a very private person. He loves the anonymity, cherishes the normalcy in his life. That he can lead the life of a common man. He shies away from the limelight. That’s a conscious choice he made years ago and he is consistent with it. He has a wicked sense of humour, he is an extremely astute director. He is wonderful with actors. He is very passionate about films.
He is very immersive when it comes to the process. He eats, sleeps, breathes the film. A true lover of Hindi cinema, a true romantic. He is an incredible amalgamation of a business and creative mind, a rare person I have met who has both sides of the brain that are as strong. He is a solid businessman and, at the same time, a wonderful artiste. He is very real and blunt. He will say things. He is a straight-shooter. He is an amazing mentor to have.
The Chopra and Bhansali schools are the two big names on your CV…
They are very similar in the sense that they are amazing with actors and have a passion for cinema. Their styles of shooting are different: Sanjay likes to take his time, Adi is very impatient. Sanjay likes to create on the sets, Adi is very organised, prepared and precise. Both have an amazing sense of musicality.
Someone pointed out to me that I am the only one who has worked with both Sanjay and Adi other than Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. I was like “Wow, that’s a stat!”
