Ranveer Singh: “Mr. Bhansali is somebody who has shaped me as an artiste”

Actor Ranveer Singh has worked with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in three movies – Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani, and Padmaavat – were received well critically and did great business at the box office. As the director’s most recent venture Gangubai Kathiawadi released on Friday, Ranveer uncovered Bhansali’s role in shaping up his career.

In a statement issued to mark the director’s 59th birthday on Thursday, Ranveer talked about Bhansali’s influence on his acting skills. “Mr. Bhansali is somebody who has shaped me as an artiste more than any other creative collaborator in my entire life. I used to approach acting a certain way – I used to think ‘mujhe sab pata hai, I know everything’ but Mr Bhansali stripped down my constructs. He broke me down and he made me into ash, so that I could rise from the ashes, be reborn as the artiste that I’ve grown into today. I’m indebted to him lifelong for that,” he said.

Speaking about the various characters he portrayed in Bhansali movies, Ranveer says, “He really expanded my bandwidth as an artist, my range and overhauled my understanding of the craft of acting. I’m grateful to him for everything that he has contributed towards shaping my craft. As a director, he has these wild ideas about what to do in a scene, about the characters and about the choices.”