Birthday Special: Ranveer Singh on how he became the new age poster boy!

He is romantic, he is candid, he is suave, he is a people’s man! Yes, he loves women and is very open about his private life. Randomly as people say, he is Ranveer Singh. He is the one star who zoomed his way to the A-list of Actors in the industry with his maiden venture. Coming with a motive of making it big in Bollywood, this dashing dude has done it Band Baaja Baraat style and how! 

Battling the nepotism that fuels this industry of make-belief, Ranveer Singh, in his own words, has had a ' voyeuristic ride so far'. With films like Lootera, Ram Leela and Gunday establishing his monumental acting prowess, Bollywood has definitely opened up new horizons for his bravado. Today as he turns 30, here are excerpts from a candid one-on-one with the star (an archived one!) where he speaks about his journey, his love for cinema and obviously, women!

On what it takes to be successful like Ranveer! 

"It's hard work that pays off at the end. Talent and hard work is what you need. Talent is not in your hands. You can’t aspire for talent. It’s just given to you. If God is kind, you get a successful kind of talent and then you have it. But then, what you have in your hand and what is upto you and in your control is how hard you work. So, if that is something you can do something about, then, it definitely evolves you into a better person."

On battling the nepotism around:

"I take great pride in the fact. As for example, the industry is talking now and giving more importance to merit, as opposed to image. It had been for many years. So people from outside who want to break into the industry get very discouraged, knowing that the prime opportunities are reserved for few people and are not about them. In my case, there is this guy (referring to him) who is being launched by the biggest production house in the country and it kind of, sets an example for the other producers in this industry to give an opportunity to people who have talent, passion and want to work hard for it! It’s a very proud thing again. I remember “Band Baaja Baraat” came out, few months ago there was an article written about me. It said my father had paid for me to bag the role and stuffs like that. Not only did that upset me, I was very hurt. I wanted my life to be an example to all those people who are struggling to be a part of this industry. I want to show them that the industry is changing, things are becoming better and they also stand a chance. Because when I was struggling, I had no such case that I could look up to. It was only Shah Rukh Khan and that was twenty years ago. In fact, there was a period in between when I was around 15 when I had to give up my dreams because wherever I go, I saw only star sons being launched. I really had no such story to look into, for hope."

On being the totally uninhibited and his tsunami of energy:

"I just try and be myself. I think people can make these observations. I guess they watch me not playing a character. Even in case of media interactions or chat shows, I just try and be myself. I know that there is another way of doing things. You sit there; you try and portray an image. Most of the others try and guard this off and want people to believe. I can’t do that and I don’t want to do that. I just sit there and show them what I originally am. And if I am all those things as you mentioned, then I just wanted to say its completely me!"

From being a filmy kid to a film hero:

"I was always a filmy kid. What you see now is what I have always been.  I have always aspired to be an actor. I had auditioned for Band Baaja Baarat with the Dhina Dhin Dha number from Ram Lakhan and people told me that it was what got me my dream debut in a YRF film. So all the birthday parties I would go to, people used to make me dance to the Ram Lakhan number and Jumma Chumma De De."

On being called a 'method actor':

"Well I don’t think that I am a method actor at all. People call me so. Firstly, they abuse the term method, nobody knows what the method actually means. Even the guy who coined this term ‘method’ would not know what it actually refers to. Method is just a word which is used for your process rather. If you are someone who prepares before going into a scene, if you are somebody who actually feels what the character is supposed to feel at that particular juncture, people say ki yeh toh method kar raha hai. If you are an actor who works yourself upto that emotion, then you are tagged as a method actor. It is just that everybody has an unique approach to their scenes. I have a process which I follow too. If I need to be angry on a certain day, I will definitely use certain methods that I need to actually feel angry. That day I wanna bite people’s heads off. The day I need to be sad, I must be crying about something from my past experiences. But the beauty of it is that I am being honest to my job. To do everything in a heartfelt and genuine way is what I feel my job as an actor stands. Any actor in the world, whatever their acting processes might be, if they deliver, if their manoeuvres touch your heart and you are moved, you cant question what they tried to do to get there. That’s completely their prerogative. I find it most fascinating to read up what other actors are doing to deliver a particular emotion. After all it’s a craft but to tag a person as a method actor is wrong because you don’t know what method is and you are limiting that person’s capabilities."

On his plans forward:

"I want to become the best actor this nation has ever seen. In my head, I already am. But that's what keeps me going. The urge to have everyone have the same feeling in their heads too, as mine, is what makes me perform better. I hope to enjoy my work as much as I have been doing and I know it for a fact that I will be acting  till the last day of my life. But as of now, the only plan is to choose great roles and make sure the audience gets to see the variety in them."