The wedding planner is here

First came the news that Yash Raj was moving out of its comfort zone by launching a newcomer in Band Baaja Baaraat and then the rumours that Ranveer Singh bagged the role only because the film was funded by his father. Ranveer Singh says he was hurt and angry with the reports. “I was hurt because I have made it on my own. I worked for a year assisting Shaad Ali with his ad films and making contacts. I then got my portfolio done and went and met any producer or director who was willing to give me an appointment, telling them that I was eager to act. Such reports embarrass Yash Raj Films. This banner doesn't need anyone else's money to make films,” says the actor, talking to us in an interview ahead of the film's release on December 10.

Ranveer doesn't hail from a film family and like many media students, went to the US to pursue higher studies. “I was studying telecommunication and media studies at the Indiana University. I then studied theatre and took up acting classes, levels 1 to 6. During my second year, I went on stage and performed. I felt ‘this is it',” he says.

Getting a toehold in the industry was easier said than done. Though he considered training himself as a director initially, assisting Shaad Ali opened a new window. “The first day on the sets, when I spotted the camera focussing on the actor, I felt that is where I needed to be — in the spot light.”

The breakthrough came through a casting director friend, Shanu Sharma, who worked with Yash Raj. “She suggested my name to Adi (Aditya Chopra). I was lucky that Adi liked my work in the first audition,” says Ranveer. In Band Baaja Baaraat, directed by debut director Maneesh Sharma, Ranveer plays Bittoo. “Anushka Sharma and I are wedding planners. She is a focussed girl and I am the one who meanders through without an aim in life.”

As is the norm in Yash Raj Films, Ranveer also has a three-film contract with Yash Raj Films. “But I will be free to sign other productions after the release of my first film,” says Ranveer. On a parting note, he says, “I have seen Band Baaja… more than once and objectively I can state that it is a quality product. Maneesh knows his craft well and it is remarkable to think that this is his debut film.”