Ranveer opens up on being a Befikra in reel as well as real life!
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; December 8, 2016)

He’s a furious ball of uncontrolled energy. Ours is the last interview of the day and Ranveer Singh’s still flashing his trademark goofy smile. He’s a little distracted by the football match playing on the television in the background as he settles down for a short chat. We discuss Ranveer’s carefree side both on and off screen and what his take on modern-day relationships are. Here goes...

How Befikre are you in real life?
I am as Befikre as it gets, man! I say what I want, I do what I want. I have liberated myself from the fear of judgment. I don’t bother about what people say and I don’t focus or negativity or the shade that people throw in my direction. I’m very blessed in my life, so I focus only on those blessings and the positive things.

Does it affect you when it gets you into trouble?
It doesn’t, usually! I don’t get into trouble, because, see, I have no malice in my heart. That’s why I have the power or the freedom to say what I want to or do what I want to. I never mean or wish ill about anybody. I operate from a very honest place in my heart. And that’s what frees me!

Were you always like this, even in school?
Yes, whenever I communicate with my old friends from school, they tell me I haven’t changed a bit. My teachers tell me the same thing. The kind of adjectives media use for me are the same that my teachers used when they met my parents.

But they say that change is a constant in life...
(Cuts in) I have always been a full-on nautanki. Ever since I was in school. I used to wear bizarre clothes, have bizarre haircuts. I find these things amusing and exciting, so I do it. Maybe, for my own amusement.

Aditya Chopra didn’t want you as a YRF talent, initially. From there to here doing a film directed by him, is there a sense of pride and achievement in you?
To be honest, he was only shown pictures at first. Perhaps, he didn’t think I had the looks to be the leading man. And even in my very first meeting at Yash Raj Studios, the first thing he told me was, ‘You are not conventionally good-looking. So you have to blow people away with your acting.’ Even when Band Baaja Baaraat was being made, he told me that ‘Look man, I really can’t sell you on a poster as a producer. People will have to watch the film to like you. So, you have to be patient and hope that people like you as an actor. Because you aren’t particularly good-looking’. When the film was releasing, I was at PVR Juhu and two girls who saw me passing by said, ‘This is Yash Raj’s new hero. Chee!’ I felt bad but I understand. I know I am not the best-looking guy around, but I hope there are other aspects about me that make me appealing.

Some of your films haven’t worked while some have been big. How do you deal with both?
I follow a very simple philosophy in life that I learnt from the Buddhist way of life. You don’t get too carried away by success, neither do you get too bogged down by failure. Filmmaking is a collaborative process and it’s team work. When it’s a success, you can’t take credit for it because there are a lot of other people’s work involved. Same thing with failure. So if a film is successful, I am like great, fantastic, what’s next? If a film fails, I will be sad, but what’s next? I put in an equal amount of effort into all of them. You have to understand that every film can’t be a success. You just have to keep doing whatever is in your control which is your hard work.

Has stardom ever hit you?
Ya ya, it has! But I try and not lose sight of what’s really important — which is not stardom to me — it’s the acting. So, I always try to focus on creating the characters I am bringing to life, exploring myself as an artist, doing different roles. I wish I could be on a film set every day. That’s my happy place. That’s where I belong. I don’t take stardom too seriously because it’s all transient and you are only as good as your last Friday. That’s what keeps you motivated and scared at the same time.

You have shot an underwear scene in the film. Why not a full monty instead?
I am very comfortable in my skin. I believe our bodies are mortal vessels. For me, I believe all human beings have a soul and as an actor, I bare my soul on screen. There are some actors who just act and it’s fully convincing and I doff my hat to them. Their artistry is highly commendable. Let’s take anger, for example. They aren’t really angry, but when they perform it, it’s 100 percent convincing. But for me, I am the kind of actor, if I am supposed to be angry in that scene, my entire being will be aligned to that kind of feeling. I would be shaking with anger and feeling those feelings. When I am baring my soul on screen, I can’t be more naked than that. This is nothing. It’s surface level, but what matters is what’s inside! As for the full monty thing, ya why not? For sure! No one has offered me something like that, though.

Has this film changed your perspective towards love in any way?
I am definitely surprised by the generational shift. The way the younger generation looks at romantic relationships is very different from the way we looked at it. A lot of ADs on the sets showed me their Tinder profiles. This girl is telling me this, that, they will tell me. And I find it shocking. They are very liberated and open-minded. They are very comfortable with conversations about their sexual choices and their romantic liaisons and they are far more forward-thinking than I was when I was 18. So yeah, I find that to be a distinctive change in the thought process.

You once told me that you didn’t believe in the institution of marriage. Has that changed now?
My views on marriage have definitely changed. There was a time I thought I would never get married. But my thinking has evolved since then. I am focussed on my career right now but at some point, I would like to get married and start a family.