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Ranveer Singh says to he took the biggest risk in his career to play Alauddin Khilji in Bhansali’s masterpiece ‘Padmaavat’.
“I am very happy with the reaction to my performance. I am relieved actually because it was a very big risk for me to take,” said Ranveer.
“A part like this at this stage of my career, and especially with people advising me against it. They said it was too big a risk to play a villain. In our country, if they love the character, they love the actor and the opposite could happen,” he added.
Ranveer candidly spoke about his struggles in portraying the maniacal character of ‘Alauddin Khilji’.
Ranveer described his struggles as a means to know more of himself.
Ranveer also mentioned the risk of playing a bi-sexual character since that is something that is not socially accepted in South Asia.
“I took 21 days and [I] locked myself up in my house. I kind of isolated myself, marinated into the character because I can’t relate to Alauddin Khilji, I can’t relate to that level of manipulativeness, greed, and ambition. I had to tap into dark experiences but his worldview is not something I can relate to also,” Ranveer went on to add.
“I had to do a lot of hard work to generate that conviction in me. I kept working on my physique, my voice, and the gait. I allowed Sanjay sir to free flow with my character. He is as much a creator of this character as I am. All credit to him,” he said.
Read more: Historian believes ‘Padmaavat’ distorts Alauddin Khijli’s character
He mentioned that in order to live the darker side of the character he had to bring in his consciousness some terrible experiences he confronted before stepping up in Bollywood.
“I can’t reveal too much because it is too personal but it is the stuff I have brushed under the carpet, so to speak; stuff that I have buried in my conscience, that I had to dig out in order to play this character. And it was not always pretty, which validates my apprehension.”
It was May. In Filmcity, it was 45-degree heat and I was wearing a 12 kg leather and prosthetic armour and there were burning tires everywhere. So, after the cut was called, my whole vision would become hazy and I would collapse.
“I knew how deep I had to go into this rabbit hole. I would have had to go into this dark, black space; this abyss that could be dangerous for me. And it was,” he said.
The actor said not only he encountered psychological challenges but also the physical challenges during the shoots of the movie. “The challenges for me were more physical, not just in that scene but throughout the film,” he revealed.
“The shooting process went in a way that I was under a lot of pressure to be doing too many things. There was a time, like during those action sequences with Shahid and during the Khali Bali dance scene, I would sometimes not be able to feel my legs,” he added.
Read more: Indian Supreme Court rejects final bid to ban ‘Padmaavat’
“It was May. In Filmcity, it was 45-degree heat and I was wearing a 12 kg leather and prosthetic armour and there were burning tires everywhere. So, after the cut was called, my whole vision would become hazy and I would collapse. Then I would have to be resuscitated and given some water to go into the next take. I use to vomit my guts out and go for the next take.”
Ranveer described his struggles as a means to know more of himself.
Ranveer also mentioned the risk of playing a bi-sexual character since that is something that is not socially accepted in South Asia. He spoke about how audiences might associate him with that role which made him worry about his perceptiona as a leading man in Bollywood.