Ranveer Singh just stripped for a cover shoot and Twitter can't handle it!

Remember the time Kim Kardashian broke the internet with a butt-naked picture on the cover of Paper Magazine in 2014? Well, we just got a very risque Bollywood version of the same. And truth be told, we can't think of anyone else but Ranveer Singh who could fit the bill. And boy oh boy, did he deliver! 

Singh recently graced the publication's cover where he bared it all - quite literally. The Jayeshbhai Jordaar star sat down for his first-ever profile in the last three years where he spoke about his glittering career, his flamboyant dressing sense and his thirst to do more in the industry. 

The photo shoot, however, grabbed the eyeballs and many took to social media and are still coming to terms with the actor's 'bold' avatar.

“It’s so easy for me to be physically naked, but in some of my performances, I’ve been damn naked. You can see my soul. How naked is that?" he told the publication. "That’s being actually naked. I can be naked in front of a thousand people, I don’t give a shit. It’s just that they get uncomfortable," he added. 

“I’m just getting started,” Singh talked about his fruitful career in Bollywood. “For the past 10 years I’ve only been learning, I’ve been collecting the tools of my craft. Let’s just say I’ve accumulated enough to fill my tool kit, it’s now ready. I’m ready.” 

The actor has been churning out one project after another as the coronavirus pandemic began to subside. “My post-pandemic appetite for prolific work has become insatiable,” he said. “I’m so hungry for work, to do, to give, to perform, to ideate, to create, to collaborate. I have a ravenous appetite for work, I’m doing 20 hours a day and I’m damn happy about it.” 

Singh's take on life

“I have a very dystopic view, a very cynical understanding of the world,” he shared thoughtfully. “Everything’s gone to s**t. I understand that this journey of life is an agonising journey. It’s agonising to just exist. I am hyper-sensitive to everything around me, it’s just the way I am, it’s how I’m wired [he’s a Cancer]. I feel a lot more. If I’m angry, I get really angry, if I’m sad I get really sad, if I’m happy I get really happy. It is very difficult, and I get overwhelmed on a daily basis.”

He went on to add, “I feel like I’ve got FOMO about life. Something might happen if or when I’m sleeping. It’s not sustainable and I realise that. Here’s the key: I’m in an experimental phase. I want to see how much I can push myself. I want to see how much I am capable of doing – physically, mentally and emotionally. How fast can I go before I crash."

Singh also shared how terrified he is of time, dancing for his life and running from death. “I have an understanding of mortality. The eventualities of life and existence. I look at it like, what is this? It’s flesh, it’s bone. These aren’t my concerns. This is just a mortal vessel. My concern is with the energy, the spirit, that intangible thing that nobody seems to be able to explain. What is this energy that runs through you, runs through me, runs through all living beings. What is it? That’s the stuff.”

The dark side

While many think Singh is all about sunflowers and sunshine, the actor says he believed in keeping his dark side to himself. “I keep things light and low-brow and silly and slapstick… there should be humour and a lightness of being. And sunshine, you know? I reserve the darkness for myself. God knows I’m a dark guy, I’m really dark… yeah.” 

Singh on fashion statements

The actor has often made headlines for his bold fashion statements. Be it likened to Harry Style's notable choices or his often head-to-toe Gucci ensemble - Singh is loud and he is proud. 

“I like minimalism in my spaces and maximalism in my appearance," the Band Bajaa Baraat star remarked. "You go to any space that’s mine, it’s completely sparse, painfully minimal. And I’m very protective of that. I’ve never shown the world my personal space. Never. Not a single picture of me in my house. When guests come over, I ask them not to take any pictures. You’ll never see my house in AD. I just want there to be a space that I know is free of eyes. There are only a few spaces left like that for me.”

As far as designer clothes go, well, he said he has every reason to dress the way he pleases. “I work hard. I want to wear nice sh**. Eat my a**, I will wear nice sh*t. I bust my b*lls, I work 20-hour days. I’m not complaining — I’m only too happy and too grateful — but I go hard. I will buy Gucci, I will wear it from head to toe. Anybody who judges me can eat my a**.” 

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