Working with Bollywood director Zoya Akhtar had been on Ranveer Singh’s wishlist for a long time before he landed a role in her latest movie Dil Dhadakne Do.
He plays the wealthy and rebellious Kabir Mehra in the film about a dysfunctional family on a cruise.
“I loved the script. I think Reema [Kagti] and Zoya are one of the best writing combinations in Bollywood. I have always admired Zoya’s work and wanted to work with her. Nobody tells urban stories like Zoya. They are very well-written and extremely insightful about human relationships,” Singh said.
The glossy ensemble drama, starring Singh, Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma and Rahul Bose, hits Indian theatres on June 5.
Singh said it was great that the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara director managed to get cast like the one in Dil Dhadakne Do.
“Everyone is generally into solo films but Zoya has pulled off a great cast. I have a great part. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have never played urban characters before that. I hope this film helps me explore my versatility further,” said the 29-year-old actor.
“Zoya has explored the quirks and dysfunctional beautifully. It is black humour but the movie is really funny and there is a healthy dose of romance too. Yes, it looks very glossy because the protagonists are supposedly rich people. They are rich people going through a crisis,” he added.
Currently recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered during the shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama Bajirao Mastani, Singh is looking forward to the promotion for the film.
Since most of the time was spent on a cruise, the actor said everyone had a great time working.
“The shoot experience was really the best that I ever had. It is an ensemble piece so every actor would get off days and we were on cruise and would travel to different exotic places. There were some 200 young people working on the movie and we would party the whole night,” said Singh.
The actor said compared to his gruelling schedule on Bajirao, working on Dil Dhadakne Do felt like holiday.
“Bajirao is a lot of hard work compared to Zoya’s film as it is very intense and high octane. On Zoya’s film even the worst day required you to just sit and talk. I am glad that I got to do this film just before Bajirao.
“We had a blast. I would go out a lot with Anil while Farhan was our designated DJ. We partied hard but were back to work by six in the morning.”