How does one go from being the Haryana Hurricane, Kapil Dev, on screen to becoming a mild-mannered Gujarati man, in a matter of six months? That’s Ranveer Singh for you. The actor’s transformation into a small-town everyday man for Jayeshbhai Jordaar has caught the audience’s attention. To pull off the part of a Gujarati man convincingly, Singh worked with diction coach Jay Bhatt before director Divyang Thakkar took the social comedy on floors.

“From Ram Leela [2013] to Bajirao Mastani [2015], I, as an artiste, feel responsible to accurately represent the places where these characters hail from. For Jayeshbhai Jordaar, I worked with a diction coach for over a month because the way Jayeshbhai speaks is typical to those who hail from heartland Gujarat. My Hindi had to sound exactly how theirs would; it was a necessary task,” says the actor, adding that he found another source of guidance in his writer-director, who hails from Gujarat. 

“Divyang surrounded me with amazing artistes from Gujarati theatre and films who were cast in the movie. He ensured that they were always around me on the sets so that I could rehearse my scenes with them.”

As he gears up for the May 13 release, Singh is delighted that the trailer of the social comedy — that bats for gender equality — has struck a chord with the audience. “I’m not someone who is happy with half measures when it comes to my craft. So, I push myself from the word go. Jayeshbhai wasn’t an exception. I want people to remember me as an actor who could do it all on screen.”