Birthday Special: Ranveer Singh’s rise to the top

Ranveer Singh’s superstardom is some day going to be a part of folklore . He came in from the outside and was considered quite a brash loudmouthed exhibitionist.

One extremely influential filmmaker called him “Another Vivek Oberoi”.

“I wonder what Aditya Chopra had seen in him?” this eminently successful filmmaker had wondered.

We now know the answer: the same thing that Deepia Padukone saw in Ranveer.

The brashness and bravado hide a personality that triumphs over all cynicism. Ranveer is loud, but not shrill. As in singing, in acting holding your pitch in the higher notes is a Himalayan task. Ranveer resides on the highest notes of the musical mountain and still manages to be coherent fluent and persuasive.

Not an easy task considering the tonal inflexions obtainable to a soprano singer singer are denied to actors in our film industry. But then , Ranveer doesn’t listen to any songs that don’t play in his own head. He is a child of caprice. He will take what he wants without caring about how it makes him look to the outside world.

The operatic maestro Sanjay Leela Bhansali who has done three of his most recent masterpieces with Ranveer in the lead, says he is capable of a lot more. “In all the three films I did with him Ranveer took me by surprise. As an actor he is constantly exploring, looking for new ways to express his innermost fears and insecurities.He is always restless and inquisitive while shooting. It is difficult t okeep up with him. Evey time we work together he comes up with a new language of expression. I am pretty sure Ranveer has much more to offer as an actor.”

It was on the set of Bhansali’s films that love happened for Ranveer and Deepika Padukone. A love that is yet to be acknowledged in the public domain , only because, well, that’s the way the Lady wants it. And Ranveer , as any of his female co-stars would tell you , is enormously respectful to women .

Anushka Sharma who co-starred with Ranveer in his debut film Band Baja Baraat couldn’t really come to terms with his brashness. But even she had only favourable things to say about Ranveer as a co-star and gentleman who is as capable of pulling up a chair for a lady as he is off pulling it away from her.

The gentleman and the prankster are the one and the same. In spite of his selfconfessed atrangi (multi-faced) personality we never need to wonder who the real Ranveer Singh is. He is all of those colourful people he plays on screen, plus many more characters that he will play in the future.

That Ranveer is a self-made star is a bit of a myth. Just because he is not from a film family it doesn’t follow that he had no support. Two major filmmakers Aditya Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have played a major hand in Ranveer’s career. Sad to say this tirelessly energetic actor has not found much success outside the three Bhansali films he has done. Ranveer’s last outing with his mentor Aditya Chopra was the disastrous Befikre.

With Rohit Shetty’s Simmba and Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boyz Ranveer may prove he has a lot more to him than what Bhansali extracts from his personality. With wedding bells around the corner the picture couldn’t get any rosier for birthday boy Ranveer , even if his nearest rival Ranbir Kpaoor has just scored a blockbuster with Sanju.

Ironically the role was meant to go to Ranveer. Just like Ranveer’s Ram Leela was first offered to Ranbir. Destiny is such a fey mistress. And when it comes the pharaoh of feyness even Destiny is stumped.