I was moved to tears when I read the script of Lootera – Ranveer Singh

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart… Casanova Ranveer Singh swept away almost every debut award for Band Baaja Baarat in 2010 and has garnered quite a lot of fan following, also owing to his hot avatars in Ladies V/s Ricky Bahl. Now, this two film old star is all set for another release. Set on the backdrop of the early 50s, Lootera is a classic tale of romance starring Ranveer and Sonakshi in the lead. Even before its release, it's already trending on the charts for its music.

While Ranveer was quite humble about the music of the film being a hit, he didn't fail to praise the beauty of these soft melodies. "I didn't expect the music to be a hit but I knew that Vikramaditya and Amit is a special jodi. When I heard the final mix of these songs for the first time, I actually had goose bumps. I was in love with music of my own film and am very proud of these melodies. I think it is Amit's best work after Dev D," said Ranveer.

While the actor just couldn't stop applauding, he also got a little dreamy as he described the 'magic' of Lootera's music. "I remember one day my shoot for Ram Leela got cancelled as it was pouring cats and dogs outside. So I put on the album of Lootera and it put me on a Trance. The effect, the ambience was beyond words."

Though Ranveer was quite confident that Vikramaditya knew the trick of impressing the critics, he believed that the music will surely have an impact on the commercial market. "A film like Lootera despite having all the credibility needs to be acceptable commercially too and music plays an important role there. I know that Vikram was conscious of the fact," said Ranveer.

Talking about commercial hits, Ranveer's overnight stardom surely is credited to his two Yash Raj hits where he played the typical hero of Bollywood. However, the actor planned to experiment by playing a different role of Varun. Ask him about how he transformed and the actor reveals some scoops of his not so easy journey, "Vikram and I decided to have a workshop with the casting director Atul Mongia. The first three days, I just wasn't getting it right. I told Vikram that I wasn't right choice for the role and decided to quit. But Vikram wasn't ready for it. In fact, he was the one who had faith in me. He said that I put up a face for people because I believe that I am obliged to entertain people, make them smile and explained it to me that it was my nature that was hindering my acting abilities. So he asked me to let go off these fears and allow people to see a different side of me."

It's a well known fact that Ranveer, the enthusiastic and happy go lucky boy is playing a calm and mysterious Varun. Talking about his role, Ranveer said, "My character in this movie is a very intense rendition and the emotions came from the deepest embers of my heart and soul. That's why I wanted to work with Vikramaditya because I know that's what he taps into, for his films."

Also, Ranveer is a huge fan of Vikramaditya since Udaan. "I have never seen anything like Udaan. The movie was so honest from start to end and was not falling into trappings of cinema. It explored some really personal and dark subjects." Recalling his Band Baaja… days, the actor also revealed how he bagged the role in Lootera, "I approached him during an award function where we were getting clicked with our trophies for Band Baaja… and Udaan and said, 'I would love to collaborate with you.' He immediately came to me with a bound script. When I read it alone in the night, it moved me to tears. Such is the power of this story."

But while Ranveer was thrilled to be a part of Motwane's film, shooting for it surely wasn't a cakewalk. Claiming it one of the toughest film he has shot till date, Ranveer said, "When we first shot at Dalhousie, there was heavy snowfall that the town hadn't witnessed in 20 years. Our set fell off because of the weight of the snow on the roof. Also, Vikramaditya picked up an injury, the equipment didn't reach on time and we had to scrap the shooting schedule."

That was not it! The news of Ranveer's injury spread like wild fire after the actor fractured his back and was bed ridden for a while. Talking about it, Ranveer said, "I had a small injury which aggravated because of the harsh weather and the kind of action I was supposed to perform. It was an injury that put me out of action for about 3 months. So, I practiced all forms of exercises from yoga to pilates to walking to swimming to running for about six hours a day. The way they show in films, I overcame every stage, starting from moving my feet. It was a big battle that I fought to come back to fitness. However, the injury was a lesson and it taught me to value the fragility of life. It made me realize that I can't be a khula saandh all the time."

After a lot of obstacles, when the trailers of this film finally hit the screens, the audience remained awestruck with the kind of sizzling chemistry that Sonakshi and Ranveer portrayed on screen. When asked him about it, Ranveer blushingly replied, "It's not like Band Baaja Baarat where the chemistry is on paper. Lootera is all about silent moments. It's silence that speaks loudest in Vikramaditya's film. Also, Vikram supported us very well. If it was an intimate scene he would provide us with the perfect ambience and if it was an emotional scene he would make sure that everyone would shut up. It was because of him that the chemistry blossomed."

The actor was also full of praises for his co-star and believed that the chemistry had a lot to do with Sonakshi's talented acting skills. "Sonakshi is a very good actor. She is very generous and spontaneous. She gives a lot of elements to play with. The chemistry is because, we for some reason, were very comfortable with each other."

However, a romance of the 50s is very different from contemporary romance. Despite the fact that the current generation does not believe in the concept of innocent love, Ranveer believes that they will accept this classic romance with open arms. "The period-ness of the film is important and hence, it is based on that era of innocence. The young generation will accept it because they haven't witnessed that kind of romance. The nazakhat, the aadein, the aankhon hi aankhon mein kind of romance can only be found in a movie. Because it doesn't exist in the real world, there is a longing for it. People can experience it only through films like Lootera," said Ranveer.

While Lootera releases on 5th July, Ranveer's future projects include Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela with Deepika Padukone and Yash Raj's Kill Dil with Parineeti Chopra.

Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more