Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 30, 2017)

It's been four years since Anurag Basu’s fantasy-drama, Jagga Jasoos, first went on floors, with a cast that included, then love birds, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. But, when reports of trouble in the duo’s paradise hit headlines, the shooting schedule of Basu’s ambitious project was also wrecked. Dates were altered, overseas schedules were frequently canned, and news of the release date being deferred became commonplace.

“We [Ranbir, Anurag and Katrina] would often discuss the progress of the film,” Ranbir, who is also co-producing the film, tells mid-day. “Often, we would wonder if we should shelve it. But then, in the end, I’d go back to the time I first heard the story, when it made me feel amazing. And that took us through the journey. When I saw the film, I realised that it turned out exactly like my director had envisioned it, like he had narrated it four years ago. It felt really good.”

The negative press surrounding the unfortunate events that plagued the film became a cause for worry, the actor says. “There are some films which take time to make. I have shot for Jagga Jasoos for 150 days. But, in the past, I have shot for other films for as long. This film only took longer to come together. We had to battle the negative reports surrounding the film. I would be lying if I said that it didn’t bother me. In the end, we decided to concentrate on the positives and move ahead.”

The actor plays a teenager with resorts to singing to express himself better. Even with many acclaimed performances to his credit, Ranbir says getting the nuances right was difficult. “The challenge was to get the stammering right. It can look fake and sound jarring. But, I went with the flow.”