BENGALURU: In 2009, Karan Johar was in the office of Yash Raj Films to meet his best friend Aditya Chopra. During their interaction in the cafeteria, Chopra, an ace producer and director, told Johar to look at an energetic young man playing table tennis. He informed him that this chap would be making his Bollywood debut in his next movie.
Johar, an uber successful producer and director in his own right, had misgivings about the young man after looking at him. But Chopra told him to look at the rushes of his audition before passing his verdict. In his own words, Johar was blown away after looking at his audition and they both agreed that this man had the potential to become a monumental star.
โBand Baaja Baaraatโ, directed by Maneesh Sharma, opened to glowing reviews in 2010 and catapulted Ranveer Singh to the global limelight. Though not a blockbuster at the box office, it did reasonably well and, moreover, Ranveer fetched terrific applause for his acting chops.
There is an old axiom in Bollywood that when an actor refuses a project, heโs creating a competitor. In 2010, the three Khans โ Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir โ were still the presiding deities and lording over the public conscience. Among the young actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan were hailed as the next superstars.
โBand Baaja Baaraatโ was first offered to Ranbir who declined the offer owing to some issues with the script. Thatโs how Ranveer came into the picture and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
โClimb to stardomโ
Ranveerโs next release โLadies vs Ricky Bahlโ, with the same director, in 2011 failed to make a mark at the ticket counters and bombed. In 2013, he starred in the critically acclaimed โLooteraโ, which proved a flop, but cemented his reputation as a stellar performer. However, he was slalomed to the โAโ category of stars with โRam Leelaโ, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which was released in the same year and proved a bonafide hit. Even more than the success, his explosive performance won him rave reviews and fortified his position as a bankable star.
In the same year, 2013, his rival Ranbir whipped out a huge blockbuster โYeh Jawaani Hai Deewaniโ but also copped a disaster called โBesharamโ. Imran, the nephew of Aamir Khan, was banished to obscurity by that time.
โBond with Bhansaliโ
After the success of โRam Leelaโ, Ranveer became a hot property in Bollywood circles, more so because of his potential than success, and he received a slew of offers. In 2014, both his releases โ โGundayโ and โKill Dillโ โ came a cropper at turnstiles and pegged him back. It was also a time when Varun Dhawan, who made his debut in 2012 with โStudent Of The Yearโ, became a young sensation. Despite the beating his films took in 2014, Ranveerโs reputation as a performer remained unsullied.
In 2015, once again, Bhansaliโs โBajirao Mastaniโ propelled him to glory. It dispelled all the reservations about his acting and stardom. It became evident that Ranveer strikes gold when handed a fine script and meaty role. Though it also spawned murmurs that Ranveer usually comes good only in Bhansali movies. This notion got more pronounced with the debacle of โBefikreโ in 2016, which was directed by his mentor Aditya Chopra.
Once again, Bhansali towed him out of troubled waters in 2018 with โPadmaavatโ which proved a blockbuster despite copping a barrage of controversies. โPadmaavatโ notched up Rs 280 crore nett in India though it didnโt release in some major circuits such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Fortuitously, on the sets of Bhansaliโs โram Leelaโ, the relationship between him and Deepika Padukone blossomed which eventually culminated in a marriage.
The success of โPadmavatโ, however, lent credence to murmurs that Ranveer only excels in Bhansali movies.
โA versatile performerโ
On December 30, Rohit Shettyโs โSimmbaโ, starring Ranveer, hit the screens and torpedoed all the myths about Ranveer. For the first time, Ranveer starred in an action entertainer and scorched the silver screen with gusto. He startled the audience and the trade with his makeover as the film went on to become a huge blockbuster.
Unlike his contemporaries, Ranveer proved that he can pull off โDil Dhadakne Doโ and โSimbaaโ with equal aplomb. Ranbir, though a fine actor, has never been able to carry a mass entertainer.
With Joya Akhtarโs โGully Boyโ in 2019, Ranveer evinced that he has the rare quality to please the classes as well as the masses. Heโs a rare young actor who has the charisma to pull in the masses into the theatres and also the heft and acumen to wow the critics & discerning viewers.
โJayeshbhai Jordaarโ
Though Ranveerโs last movie โ83โ garnered splendid reviews it couldnโt cut the mustard at the box office. One of the reasons is lockdown restrictions in certain circuits. Now his next venture โJayeshbhai Jordaarโ, produced by Aditya Chopra, is up for release. Once again, Ranveer is essaying a diametrically different role than his past endeavours. His diligence to get into the skin of the character is visible in the trailer and songs.
Irrespective of the fate of the movie at the box office, Ranveer is here to entertain the audience for at least a couple of more decades โ on and off the screen.
