Off-screen, Ranveer Singh has a reputation of a jokester.
On-screen, the former copywriter has built a fairly successful career on the treacherous, shifting sands of Bollywood in four brief years. Off it, he revels in a politically incorrect persona as delicious as it is refreshing. And he's dating Deepika Padukone. It doesn't get much better, even in the gap on his recent resume begging to be filled by a hit. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh Meets the Padukones, Shops With Deepika and Her Family)
Ranveer Singh Bhavnani was born in Mumbai on July 6, 1985. He dropped the second half of his double-barreled surname because it was too much of a mouthful. He is related to actor Anil Kapoor's wife Sunita. The young Ranveer was a born performer, apparently once breaking into the Jumma Chumma number from Amitabh Bachchan's Hum when asked by his grandmother to entertain her. However, it wasn't to be a short walk to showbiz. At Mumbai's HR College, Ranveer studied creative writing. He then graduated from Indiana University in the US with a BA degree. He also minored in theatre. He then returned to Mumbai and worked as a copywriter in advertising agencies. Finally, he worked as an assistant director before quitting to become an actor. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh Completes Four Years in Bollywood)
Several failed auditions later, Ranveer was cast as the lead in Yash Raj Films' 2010 rom-com Band Baaja Baaraat opposite actress Anushka Sharma. His performance as rough-around-the-edges Bittoo earned him critical praise and a Filmfare award for Best Male Debut. Band Baaja Baraat turned up trumps at the box office and Yash Raj Films cast Ranveer and Anushka in a second film, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. Ranveer's third film, the critically acclaimed Lootera (2013), took the slightly sinister side of his Ricky Bahl character further. In the period piece co-starring Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer played a thief who cons his way into her heart only to break it but ultimately finds redemption.
Ranveer then starred in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed smash hit
Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013), opposite Deepika Padukone. His next two films -
Gunday and
Kill Dil, both in 2014 - didn't fare as well either at the box office or in reviews. The year was salvaged somewhat with a hilarious cameo in Deepika's
Finding Fanny.
Off-screen, Ranveer has a reputation as a jokester to protect. His maverick wardrobe and red carpet hi-jinks, not to mention a hilarious mash-up of actor
Hrithik Roshan's dance moves at a Mumbai crossing on a dare, eventually culminated in a 'roast' by the comedy collective AIB. At a live show, before an audience of 4,000, Ranveer and his
Gunday co-star Arjun Kapoor took an hour-and-a-half of insults and rude jokes from 'roastmaster' Karan Johar and a panel of eight. The 'roast,' the first of its kind in India, has raised both laughs and howls of protest over its risqué language and content.(Also Read:
At AIB's Knockout Roast, Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh Were Funnier Than the Roasters)
That apart, Ranveer's 2015 is looking up. He has two promising films to look forward to -
Dil Dhadakne Do, co-starring Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma, and
Bajirao Mastani, which re-unites him with his
Ram-Leela director and co-stars. (Also Read:
10 Funny Faces Ranveer Singh Made on Instagram)