When I start my clothing line, I will give it my all: Ranveer Singh

Actor talked about success, his safe space, being an outsider in Bollywood and more

Actor Ranveer Singh is considered one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars and for all the right reasons. From his acting prowess to style statements, he leaves no stone unturned in impressing his fans time and again. This time around, the Bollywood actor spoke about his fame, and his personal and professional life in an interview with Esquire Singapore.

Ranveer believes authenticity has been the key to his success in connecting to culture, and as result to the global audience. "I think anybody expressing themselves in an authentic way, appeals to anybody. Regardless of the culture; they heal from it. Authenticity, sincerity and honesty: these things transcend boundaries. You know, even in the world of film, you can take Parasite as a shining example. It was a film made out of Korea — from a very specific culture — but it went and conquered the highest heights of international cinema.”

The self-made actor had no backing when he first entered Bollywood. An ‘outsider’ in the Indian film industry, it was his talent that got him to where he is today. Speaking about the debates around nepotism, Ranveer mentioned, “In my position, it was very far-fetched to think that I could do this. Around the turn of the century — when I was in 10th grade, I wanted to act. But I kind of gave up on it, thinking it was too far-fetched. Because the examples of people having made it into this glitzy industry from the outside were too few-and-far-in-between. There was just Mr Shah Rukh Khan, Mr Amitabh Bachchan and Mr Akshay Kumar. That’s it. At the time [around the year 2000], I looked around me and all the new upstarts were somebody with some kind of great legacy; whose fathers were great superstars or big-time producers or directors. So, I gave it up.”

A small incident changed his life forever – and for the better. “After four years of giving up on that dream, I was pursuing writing in the meantime. But it came to a stage where I was like to myself: Man, it looks far-fetched. But at least let me give it my best shot. You know? I can accept it not happening for me but I can’t accept not giving it my best shot. So, I said: Let me try. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But whatever factors are in my control, I’m going to use those faculties to try and make it happen for myself. You could say that I created my own luck in that sense. The whole manifest your life thing; and manifest it very literally.”

When asked what helped him to stand out in a sea full of hopefuls, Ranveer credited his support system. He shared his parents and sister were his biggest cheerleaders. “I guess the couple of advantages I had were: one, I had very supportive parents. They believed in me and told me to pursue whatever was in my heart. Because when you work towards it and if your heart is in it, I believe you will excel at it [whatever it is]. If you’re doing something that your heart is not in, then it’s not going to happen. Two: I’m born and raised in suburban Mumbai, which is pretty much the heart of the entertainment centre of the country. So, I always had a square meal and a roof over my head. But that was about it.”

He went on, “From then on, I really had to forge my own path. I had no idea of what I wanted when I was trying to make it. I was scratching my head, thinking: How am I going to do this? And I was basically grabbing in the dark, flapping my hands to catch something and yeah, then slowly, it happened.”

While the Bajirao Mastani star may come across as someone who is an open book, there are many facets of his life that he prefers to keep hidden and away from the public eye. “Any amount of people and any amount of cameras is fine by me; but there are certain parts of my life that I hold very dear. Behind closed doors, in my home, I’m extremely private. You know, a lot of fans of mine, and a lot of Deepika’s fans communicate with me through social media and they’re like, ‘You guys don’t appear enough together’; ‘You guys don’t share your lives with us enough’. But that’s a conscious choice, you know? It’s just, those are the dearest parts of my life that I choose to protect from the public gaze. So, you will never see a picture of me from the inside of my home, you know. That’s like my safe place. There needs to be one place in the world where I can just be and not feel like eyes are on me.”

Ranveer can relate to wife Deepika Padukone on many levels, with one of the most important ones being the fact that they both do not hail from film backgrounds. But he believes it is what keeps the duo grounded and motivated to strive for better. “Fortunately, I have a very close-knit circle of near-and-dear loved ones. My mum, my dad, and my sister – who was like a second mother to me while growing up. I have my three best friends who have been so for more than half of my life. Then with Deepika, the way she is and the way her family is — they live in Bangalore, away from the limelight. They’re like, as you said, a very simple middle-class to upper middle-class family, and they’re centred and grounded people.”

He went on to say that him and Deepika’s experiences have been very similar, as have their respective journeys in the entertainment industry. “Deepika also had to work her way up in the entertainment business. She’s that classic story of packing a suitcase and coming to the big, bad city.”

And of course, like with every interview he gives, Ranveer had to address his quirky fashion sense too. However, this time around he was asked if he has any plans of launching a clothing brand soon. And much to the disappointment of his fans, the actor relayed he has his hands full with film projects. 

I think I’m very engaged with my movies and my characters at the moment and when I do it [and I will do it], I will give it my all. I will give it more than 100% pretty much like anything else in my life. There are always ideas brewing in my head and I’m pretty sure about the palette I’d do first and the colour scheme… though I won’t reveal it yet!

For all DeepVeer fans, the couple just bought their first house together, and are busy with building their own home! “I moved into her place after the wedding, so it’s been about four years now. But this is our first home together,” Ranveer concluded.