Finally! Ranveer Singh opens up about working with Shahid in Padmavati

From the beginning, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming venture ‘Padmavati’ has been rocking the headlines. The reason being speculated is Ranveer Singh’s discomfort working with Shahid Kapoor.

However, Ranveer has opened up about all the reports surrounding him and ‘Padmavati’. He was quoted saying,” At the beginning of the year, Mr Bhansali spoke to me about the film, saying, ‘I want to make Padmavati with you.’ I thought it was going to be a beauty versus the beast or the heroine versus an anti-hero kind of a story. I was very excited and committed to it. Then, I went to shoot ‘Befikre’, while the scripting for ‘Padmavati’ was on. When I came back and read the script, there was a prominent third part. I told him what I thought about the script. As a policy, I never get into the casting decisions of any character of a film, unless my opinion or suggestion is asked for. We had that discussion and I clearly, told him, ‘We should get the best possible actor to play this part.’ And I am very excited about Shahid coming on board. I think he’s a brilliant actor and an amazing inclusion to our team. He will add immense value.” (sic)

Rumours were at rife that Ranveer would drop out from the film as it includes Shahid Kapoor as another lead. To that, the actor replied, “I committed to the film even before the script was ready. I was always going to do this film, regardless of who was cast as Padmavati or Rawal Ratan Singh. It’s a very conscious decision to do a part that is challenging and completely out of my comfort zone. I knew that it would be a maverick move and could be a risk. But, I listened to my instincts and went ahead with it. There’s no question of opting out. I always wanted to do something different; I was always interested in doing an anti-hero part, and who better to do it with than Mr Bhansali. I think the way the film has been set up, it makes for spicy stories, where people assume there’s friction between actors. But, at one point, I was like, ‘This is getting out of hand and as the leading man of the film, I need to take the responsibility and initiative to make sure that everything is okay’. So, I called everyone and said, ‘Let’s meet’. We all got together and I was very happy to see that we gelled well. Shahid joining the team is a blessing and I was happy to see that we are all on the same page, and we could have a laugh about all the absurd stories.” (sic)

While talking about his equation with Shahid Kapoor, he says,” The only report that was true is that we work out in the same gym and enjoy each other’s company. I have always had a warm and affectionate equation with him. I have tremendous amount of respect and admiration for his work and him as an actor. I have been watching his films even before I got into the industry and excited to be collaborating with him. Also, I am no one to ask a filmmaker to give another actor a certain billing or to alter the script. Having said that, the script is phenomenal and should be shot the way it is. I just stick to my job, which is acting. Things like posters, publicity material and promotions are entirely the filmmaker’s prerogative. I don’t get into all of that.” (sic)