Exclusive Interview: ‘Simmba is amongst my best work,’ says Ranveer Singh

If there is one actor in Bollywood who can pull off costume dramas like Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018) with as much élan as he can headline commercial potboilers like Gunday (2014) and Simmba (2018), it has to be none other than Ranveer Singh. Singh, who began his career in 2010 with Yash Raj Films’ Band Baaja Baaraat, is presently one of the most bankable stars in Hindi cinema.

Ranveer Singh’s year has been quite hectic. But then that is exactly the way he likes it. After beginning 2018 with a bang with Padmaavat, he took the biggest decision of life and married long-time girlfriend Deepika Padukone in November. Now, Singh is set to cap off the year with his massy action entertainer Simmba. The Rohit Shetty-helmed affair hit the silver screen to rousing response earlier today.

Before the release of the big-ticket action entertainer, our Mumbai correspondent Mohnish Singh met the young star at J.W. Marriot, Juhu, for a freewheeling chat. In this interview with Eastern Eye, Ranveer Singh opens up about lifting his first Best Actor trophy in front of wife Deepika Padukone, what makes Simmba the most important film of his career and whether or not he is open to doing digital shows at this point in his career. The actor also shares what makes Deepika Padukone greater than him. Excerpts...

Ranveer, congratulations for winning the Best Actor award for Padmaavat at 25^th Star Screen Awards.

Thank you. I had worked really hard to play my part in Padmaavat. It was a tough competition at the award ceremony (as several other actors were also nominated in the same category). It was very, very special, though, because my wife was sitting next to me.

Your wife Deepika Padukone got quite emotional after you lifted the trophy.

I had always dreamt of it, you know, that my wife would be sitting next to me and I would kiss her and then go onto stage to collect my award for the Best Actor. Having said that, I had not planned anything for this win. I had not planned any speech. I usually don’t plan things. What if I do not get the award? It’s heartbreaking if you plan but don’t win. So, since I had not planned anything but I was still expected to say something, I blurted out whatever came to my mind. But I realized it afterwards that whatever I said was very true.

I have been working in this industry for eight years now. And out of these eight years, I dated Deepika for six years. I have been dating her before the release of Lootera (2013). Even she had not experienced the five-blockbusters-in-a-row phase of her career. So, I realize we have grown together and evolved together. Whatever I have achieved in these six years is just because of her, because she kept me grounded and centred. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened to me. We have been each other’s support throughout. We have always encouraged each other over these years.

Padmaavat was an extremely difficult film. Even she had to witness a lot of struggle before its release. So, when I got the trophy, she couldn’t control her excitement because she loves me a lot (smiles shyly).

Aw, that’s adorable.

She is a great woman. I am a spoilt brat, a nawabzaada. I have my mother, sister and father at home. Mom and sister take care of home, while my father takes care of business and all. They always looked after me. I just act in films. I am a performer. But Deepika comes from a totally different background. She came from Bangalore, leaving her home behind. She must be 18 or 19 when she came with just a suitcase. Initially, she stayed with her relative and then in a PG. She has done proper struggle and got to the top on her own. Coming all alone to a city like Mumbai and setting up your career is not easy. She does multi-tasking. She takes care of her home and business and also acts in films. She is greater than me in every aspect. Yes, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her.

After you won the Best Actor trophy, Pankaj Tripathi said that he has seen your journey from being a struggler to a star. What do you have to say about it?

Pankaj Tripathiji is an outstanding actor. We have just started to understand his value now. He is everywhere now, from Netflix to films to award shows. In Gunday (2014), he did a small part. I would like to tell you that we might do another film together. A couple of days ago, we were doing a roundtable for a channel. I guess in this room only. I was surprised to know about his knowledge of cinema and the kind of insight that he has. It looked like as if a saint was saying something. He is connected to Shaad Ali and Ali Abbas Zafar and I have known both the directors since my struggle days. So I think he must have also seen me during those days.

Ranveer, you have teamed up with Rohit Shetty for the first time in your career for Simmba. You always wanted to work with him. Can we say that it is the most important film of your career because it stars you in and as Simmba?

Yes, it is. It is my biggest film so far. It is my first in and as (film). It is a film that is mounted on me as a solo hero. Rohit Shetty and I are leading it and that is a big deal for me. This film was offered to me after Padmaavat. I always wanted to do masala films, but I never wanted to do a masala film if it was not a Rohit Shetty film because there is nobody else who gets it right. So, I really wanted to do this genre only with him because, to me, he is the king of this genre. For me, it seems one has to really earn it. You have to have a certain amount of equity which qualifies you to become a leading man of a masala film.

Do you think you will get another award for your performance in Simmba?

It’s not for me to decide whether my performance is award-worthy or not, but it is amongst my best work. If you see it from a performer’s point of view, you have done all the genres in one film. You have done romance, comedy, action and drama. Not too many people understand how painstaking it is to make a masala film. Not enough credit is given to the makers of this genre.

After Padmaavat, you are playing a baddie again in Simmba. Have such type of roles started attracting you more?

Not really. After Padmaavat, I shot Gully Boy and completed it. And then I got Simmba. He (Simmba) is a loveable rogue, though, unlike Khilji. Khilji was just a lost cause.

Simmba is inspired from Telugu film Temper (2015). Did you see the original film before saying yes to Simmba?

No, I did not watch Temper. I was presented with a bound script. I was given a narration. The draft was already ready and I knew that only some broad points had been borrowed from Temper and it was going to be pitched, unlike the original film.

You are capping off 2018 with a massy film like Simmba and 2019 also seems equally promising for you as you have some exciting projects lined up for release. How do you feel?

Creatively I am very excited for 2019 because, in January, I will start training to play Kapil Dev in 83. And then I have Takht with Karan Johar and an amazing ensemble cast. So yeah, the coming year is also something to really look forward to.

Today, a lot of mainstream actors have started exploring digital space also. How do you see it? Will you be open to doing a digital series at this point in your career?

Yes. I am open to it. If something good comes along, I am not going to be closed to it. I am always open to ideas and I never say never. I am very open-minded in that sense. Good content is good content. I loved Sacred Games and am so proud of Vikramaditya (Motwane). He has achieved something really unprecedented with Sacred Games. He has created a whole new, bona fide avenue for creative people to explore. Sacred Games has made OTT a real thing (in India). People have started taking the platform seriously because of the acceptance and the way the audience celebrated Sacred Games. I think it is great and I would love to be a part of it. But my focus is to offer the big screen experience because, in my opinion, what has happened in the past few years is that screens are getting smaller and smaller. You have the big screen, then you have your television and laptop and now you have your phone also. More and more people are consuming entertainment on these smaller screens and not going to the hall. The footfalls are suffering. That is fair enough because it is frigging expensive to go to the hall. But big screen is my focus. Simmba is a big-ticket, big screen offering as is 83 and thenTakht. So, my immediate focus is to offer the big screen experience to our beloved audience.