Each year thousands of aspirants try their luck to get that one elusive break in Bollywood. Out of those, a few manage to get a break, while only a handful actually manage to make the most of that break and move ahead from strength to strength. Dec 9, 2010, Bollywood gave birth to its latest star who impressed one and all with his impeccable acting in Band Baaja Baaraat. The person being referred to here is none other than Ranveer Singh who is without doubt one of the most promising newcomers to have set foot in Bollywood in the last few years. After bagging all the possible Best Debutant awards last year, Ranveer is all set to prove that he is no one film wonder. His latest Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl has him playing a con-man who sweeps girls off their feet and then cons them. In this fun-filled chat with Bollywood Hungama's Nikhil Ramsubramaniam, Ranveer Singh talks about how playing a female charmer comes naturally to him, his love-hate relationship with Anushka Sharma, his newly acquired chiseled look and also gives some invaluable tips on how to woo ladies...Read on... 17 Cities, 28 Ladies, 93 Million…Must say that is quite an impressive scorecard for Ricky Bahl? (Laughs) I am not too sure about the figures you mentioned as it keeps changing by the minute. Yeah...but I must say it's quite an impressive feat. After all, Ricky Bahl is one of the best players in the game who gets a thrill like no other by conning women. Ricky Bahl is one of the best Players in the game who gets a thrill like no other by conning women. There have been many rom-coms in Bollywood so far. Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl is the first ever rom-con. What do you have to say about that? Yeah...this is an amalgamation of two genres. It is a romantic comedy with a very strong thrill element courtesy all the conning that takes place in the film. Personally, if you ask me, it's more of a con-film with an element of romance in it. I'd like to call it a 'Desi-Pulp-Revenge-Chick Flick'. Did playing the character of a guy who charms women through smooth-talk come easily to you? Yes absolutely...it's a skill I am born with so I must say I was really comfortable playing the part (laughs). I thank God for giving me this skill which has now come in handy to play Ricky Bahl. Take us through each of your 3 victims- Parineeti Chopra, Dipannita Sharma and Aditi Sharma Parineeti plays a rich, spoilt, 'daddy's little girl' from Delhi who gets whatever she wants. Since it's her first film, she came with oodles of energy and has really nailed the character. Dipannita plays a strong woman in the male-dominated corporate world of Mumbai. She had to give a vibe that is very stern and business like yet cool and composed and I think she has done a fabulous job. Aditi is a very sweet girl and her character on-screen is too that of a sweet and simple girl who runs a cloth store in Lucknow with her family. The 3 girls represent 3 different types of contemporary Indian women, all of whom fall prey to Ricky Bahl. I feel Anushka and my chemistry is really extra-ordinary. I feel like I am sucked into a trance while acting with her and come out of it when the director yells Cut. And of course you have Anushka Sharma playing your perfect opponent. How was it working with Anushka once again after Band Baaja Baaraat? Oh…it was fantastic. In my opinion, Anushka is the best actress among all her contemporaries. During Band Baaja Baaraat, we were working together for the first time and were exploring each other's approach towards work. She is a different kind of an actor and so am I. Our approaches are vastly different. While shooting for Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl, the comfort level and understanding between us was much more and that helps in getting the right chemistry on screen. I feel Anushka and my chemistry is really extra-ordinary. I feel like I am sucked into a trance while acting with her and come out of it when the director yells Cut. She is the most natural actor and I am privileged to have her as my co-star in my first and second film. When the two of you appeared together on 'Koffee with Karan', it seemed like the two of you share a love-hate relationship. What do you have to say about that? I am really fond of Anushka. She is a very close friend of mine but yes at the same time we do get on each other's nerves and can tear each other's hair out. Nowadays it's a bit less as we understand each other better and there is a greater comfort level. But having said that, she still gets on my nerves at least once a day. How do you think Maneesh Sharma has evolved as a director? Maneesh Sir has definitely become more confident. He always had the confidence in his story and his craft even during Band Baaja Baaraat but this time around he was even more clear in his head and confident about the story and the characters. He is a very precise story-teller and it's very easy to work with a director who has such amazing clarity of thought. You seem to have beefed-up for your role in the film. So did you go through a rigorous training program to acquire those bulging biceps and washboard abs? Yeah….I worked out religiously and was on a strict diet for 3 months. Making that body took a lot out of me. I was staying hungry during shoots and it was quite taxing. I love working out but dieting can be quite boring. I am a foodie and to survive only on boiled food was quite a torture for me but I am glad I went through it all as the results are there for all to see on celluloid now forever. There has been a bumper response to my chiseled look and I believe girls are going crazy. I can tell all the girls that they've only seen a flash of it in the trailer and there are many more instances in the film where I am seen shirtless. There has been a bumper response to my chiseled look and I believe girls are going crazy. Could you tell us a bit about your various get-ups in the film? We as a team discussed the various looks my character would sport in the film. Maneesh Sir also gave his inputs but the most amount of credit should go to Aki Narula for my look and styling in the film. He's possibly the best costume designer we have in the industry and has an enormous body of work behind him. He would give me the clothes of the character while I was doing the workshops for this film which not every costume designer would do. He made sure that I got into character right from the workshop stage and you won't believe it but the moment I put those clothes on, I got into the skin of the character. Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl is also extra-special for you as you are making your debut as a singer as well with those cool rap portions in 'Aadat Se Majboor'… Yeah…that song 'Aadat Se Majboor' is really special. I am so happy that people are liking the song. I've got many compliments on the rap portion though in my opinion I think it's quite amateurish. I could have done a better job and I hope I get the opportunity to do a better job in one of my future films. Having said that I must say that just being in the studio and working with immensely talented people like Benny Dayal and Salim-Sulaiman was an outstanding experience. We had a lot of fun recording that song. Apart from 'Aadat Se Majboor', how do you rate the rest of the OST of Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl? There are two other tracks that I really love in the album. One of them is 'Thug Le', the video of which just came out recently. It's a very up-tempo number with a very cool grunge vibe. The choreography by Shruti Merchant is really cool. She makes her debut as a choreographer with this one. It's a very high-energy song and Shruti really made us go through the grind. It's one of the toughest songs I've shot for (even tougher than 'Ainvayi Ainvayi' or 'Dum Dum') but now when people are appreciating the song and the video, the effort seems so worth it. The second track which I like a lot is 'Jigar Ka Tukda'. Audio-wise it's my favourite track; it's got a very 'Ainvayi Ainvayi' feel to it. It's my song with Parineeeti and I must say that we had a blast shooting this fun track I've got many compliments on the rap portion though in my opinion I think it's quite amateurish. I could have done a better job and I hope I get the opportunity to do a better job in one of my future films. Ranveer you debuted with Band Baaja Baaraat last year on Dec 10. Now exactly a year later you have Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl releasing on Dec 9 this year. From Dec 10th 2010 to Dec 9th 2011 how has life changed for you? This past one year has been the biggest learning curve for me. I've started to learn the ropes of the industry. I've started to learn how a film set works. I've learnt so many things interacting with thousands of different people that I feel that somewhere I have grown a lot in the last one year. I still don't know anything compared to how much there is to know but I've started learning at a very rapid pace. 'Thug Le' is one of the toughest songs I've shot for. It's a very high-energy song and choreographer Shruti Merchant really made us go through the grind. Finally what are the 3 tricks that you as Ricky Bahl would give to all the guys out there to patao a girl? Firstly, you have to make her laugh. Once you crack her up with your humour, you have disarmed her. Secondly, you have to always give the best charming smile possible. A good smile goes a long way in melting a girl. And thirdly, you have to smell good. You have to smell fresh and masculine. You can't smell like a bunch of flowers (laughs). Before we sign off, are you all set to travel back in time with Lootera next? Well right now all my energies are focused on Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl till its release. Yes post that I will jump in to Lootera. We start with the workshops and script reading sessions before beginning shooting towards end of December. I am really looking forward to working with both Vikramaditya and Sonakshi.
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