Ranveer Singh

Early life and background

Ranveer Singh Bhavnani was born on 6 July 1985 into a Sindhi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra to Anju and Jagjit Singh Bhavnani. He has an elder sister, Ritika Bhavnani. His grandparents moved to Bombay from Karachi, Sindh (in present-day Pakistan) during the partition of India. His paternal grandfather was Sunder Singh Bhavnani and his paternal grandmother was actress Chand Burke, who was born into a Punjabi Christian family and was the sister of diplomat and writer Samuel Martin Burke, active in Pakistan following independence.

Singh explains that he dropped his surname Bhavnani, since he felt that the name would have been "too long, too many syllables", thus downplaying his brand as a "saleable commodity". Singh's mother's cousin, Sunita Kapoor (née Bhavnani), is married to actor Anil Kapoor. Singh always aspired to be an actor, participating in several school plays and debates. However, after he joined H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, Singh realised that getting a break in the film industry was not easy. Feeling that the idea of acting was "too far-fetched", Singh focused on creative writing. He went to the United States where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Indiana University Bloomington in 2008. At the university, he decided to take acting classes and took up theatre as his minor.

After completing his studies and returning to Mumbai in 2007, Singh worked for a few years in advertising as a copywriter, with agencies like O&M and J. Walter Thompson. He also worked as an assistant director but left it to pursue acting. He then decided to send his portfolio to directors. He would go for all kinds of auditions, but did not get any good opportunities, while only getting calls for minor roles: "Everything was so bleak. It was very frustrating. There were times I would think whether I was doing the right thing or not."

Career

Early work and breakthrough (2010–2014)

In 2010, Singh auditioned for a lead role in Maneesh Sharma's Band Baaja Baaraat, a romantic comedy from the production company Yash Raj Films. Impressed by his audition, producer Aditya Chopra cast him for the part opposite Anushka Sharma. Singh described his role of Bittoo Sharma as a typical Delhi boy. To prepare for the role, he spent time with students at the Delhi University campus. Despite reservations about the film's commercial appeal from trade journalists, the film emerged as a sleeper hit. Singh's performance was praised, with Anupama Chopra of NDTV writing that Singh was "pitch perfect in the role of the uncouth but good-hearted small town slacker". At the annual Filmfare Awards, Singh won the award for Best Male Debut.

Following Band Baaja Baaraat, Singh signed on for Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, a romantic comedy once again produced by Chopra, directed by Maneesh Sharma, and co-starring Anushka Sharma. He played a conman Ricky Bahl who cons girls for a living but finally meets his match. According to Singh, the title character had various avatars in the film, including a chirpy, entertaining side and a sinister side. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India wrote, "Ranveer is, well Ranveer: your average Joe kind of hero who looks convincing enough as Sunny, Deven, Iqbal, Ricky, his sundry avatars." Singh received critical acclaim for Vikramaditya Motwane's period romance Lootera (2013), co-starring Sonakshi Sinha. An adaptation of O. Henry's short story "The Last Leaf", the film tells the story of Pakhi Roy Chowdhury, a young Bengali woman who falls in love with Varun Shrivastava, a conman posing as an archaeologist. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote that Singh "brings a quiet sensitivity to Varun, and occasionally a smoldering intensity. Offering a finely internalized performance, he leaves a lasting impression." Lootera underperformed commercially.

Singh next starred opposite Deepika Padukone in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, titled Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, in which he played Ram, a Gujarati boy based on the character of Romeo. Bhansali was impressed by Singh's performance in Band Baaja Baaraat and decided to cast him for the film. Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela generated positive reviews from critics, as did Singh's performance. Writing for India Today, Rohit Khilnani wrote that the film proved that he would be a star. The film emerged as Singh's biggest commercial success, with worldwide revenues of ₹202 crore (US$21 million). Singh received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Established actor (2015–2019)

Zoya Akhtar's ensemble comedy-drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), produced by and cameo-starring her brother Farhan Akhtar, featured Singh alongside Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Priyanka Chopra as the younger sibling of a dysfunctional Punjabi business family who aspires to become a pilot. Writing for Mumbai Mirror, Kunal Guha found Singh to be the "surprise element" of the film; he praised his "immaculate comic timing" and took note of his subtlety. Commercially, the film underperformed. He next reunited with Bhansali in the period romance Bajirao Mastani (2015), opposite Padukone and Chopra. He portrayed Bajirao I, for which he shaved his head and to prepare, he locked himself in a hotel room for 21 days. Raja Sen wrote that Singh "brings his character to life and does so with both machismo and grace", and commended him for his perfecting his character's gait and accent. The film earned ₹350 crore (US$36 million) to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films, and garnered Singh the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

In 2016, Singh starred in Aditya Chopra's comedy-romance Befikre opposite Vaani Kapoor. He played Dharam Gulati, a stand-up comic whose romantic liaisons with Kapoor's character leads to conflict between them. Set in Paris, Befikre marked the fourth project to be directed by Chopra. Singh performed a nude scene for it, a rare occurrence in an Indian film. Jay Weissberg of Variety found the film to be an "overly energetic twist on the old friends with benefits theme" and criticised Singh's "manic behavior". It underperformed at the box office.

After a year-long absence from the screen, Singh portrayed Alauddin Khilji, as a ruthless Muslim king, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmaavat (2018), co-starring Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor, which marked his third collaboration with Bhansali and Padukone. Right-wing Hindu groups speculated that the film distorted historical facts and issued violent threats against the cast and crew. The film's release was deferred and was allowed for exhibition after several modifications were made to it. Ankur Pathak of HuffPost criticised the film's misogynistic and regressive themes, but praised Singh for his "astute brilliance" in depicting Khilji's bisexuality. Rajeev Masand opined that he "plays the part with the sort of grotesque flamboyance that makes it hard to look at anyone or anything else when he's on the screen". Padmaavat's production budget of ₹200 crore (US$21 million) made it the most expensive Hindi film ever made at that time. With a worldwide gross of over ₹570 crore (US$59 million), it became Singh's highest-grossing release and among India cinema's biggest grossers. He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (shared with Ayushmann Khurrana for Andhadhun) and gained a Best Actor nomination at the ceremony.

Career fluctuations and Dhurandhar (2020–present)

In 2021, Singh hosted the television game show The Big Picture, which aired on Colors TV. He reprised his role as Simmba in Shetty's action film Sooryavanshi in an extended cameo. Singh then portrayed cricketer Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan's 83, a sports film based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Initially planned for a 2020 release, 83 was delayed several times owing to casting and pre-production that postponed filming, and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Reviews for the film were positive, with praise for Singh's portrayal of Dev. The film failed to recoup its large ₹270 crore (US$28 million) investment. Singh's performance won him his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Singh's first film release of 2022 was Jayeshbhai Jordaar, a satire about female infanticide in India. Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost disliked the film but commended him for "transform[ing] his body, body language and demeanour, his posture, his walk, his gestures and his entire personality" for the part, similar to how he had "metamorphosed" to play Dev in 83. Following this, both he and Varun Sharma played dual roles of identical pairs of twin brothers separated at birth in Shetty's ensemble comedy Cirkus (2022), a remake of the 1982 film Angoor, which was based on William Shakespeare's play Comedy of Errors. In a scathing review, Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in dismissed Singh's performance as "consistently lacklustre". Both Jayeshbhai Jordar and Cirkus were commercially unsuccessful.

In 2023, Singh starred in Karan Johar's romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, opposite Alia Bhatt. Johar based the character of Rocky on gym rat influencers from West Delhi; in preparation, Singh spent time with one such influencer named Yuvraj Dua, learning his dialect and mannerisms. He also trained in Kathak for a sequence in which he had to dance to "Dola Re Dola". Mayank Shekhar believed that he "owns this role like nothing short of an inimitable rock-star", while Anupama Chopra wrote that he "combines the charm offensive with moments of vulnerability and tears with great aplomb". Earning over ₹350 crore (US$36 million) worldwide, it emerged as one of the year's highest-grossing Hindi films. He received another Best Actor nomination at Filmfare. Singh once again played Simmba in Shetty's action sequel Singham Again (2024), alongside an ensemble cast. Despite disliking the film, NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee considered Singh to be its "brightest spark" and commended his comic timing. Singham Again had modest box-office returns on its high production budget.

Personal life

Singh began dating Deepika Padukone, his co-star in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, in August 2012. In October 2018, the couple announced their impending marriage. The following month, they married in both traditional Konkani Hindu ritual and Sikh Anand Karaj ritual. Both the ceremonies were held at Lake Como, Italy. On 8 September 2024, Padukone gave birth to their first child, daughter Dua Padukone Singh. The couple announced that they were expecting their second child in April 2026.

Media image and reception

Singh has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012, reaching his highest position (seventh) in 2019. That year, the magazine estimated his annual earnings to be ₹118 crore (US$12 million) and ranked him as the fifth-highest-paid actor in the country. He was also featured by GQ in their listing of the 50 most influential young Indians of 2017 and 2019. In 2019, India Today featured him among the nation's 50 most powerful people, and in 2023, he featured in a similar list by The Indian Express.In addition to his acting career, Singh launched his own record label in 2019, named IncInk, to promote local musicians. He endorses several brands, including Adidas, Head & Shoulders, Ching's, Jack & Jones, Thums Up, and MakeMyTrip. Singh is also an investor in Vineeta Singh's start-up Sugar Cosmetics. Kroll Inc. (formerly Duff & Phelps) estimated his brand value to be US$63 million, in 2019, the fourth-highest of Indian celebrities. In 2022 and 2023, he held the second position, peaking with a brand value of US$203.1 million in the latter year. In 2024, he acquired a 50% stake in Elite Mindset, a packaged foods company. In 2025, a report by Kroll valued his brand at $170.7 million, maintaining his position as India's second most valued celebrity. Additionally, his global presence was noted when he became the first Indian actor to be featured on the cover of a major international sports magazine following the success of Dhurandhar.

Off-screen, Singh is known for his flamboyant fashion sense. In July 2022, Singh appeared nude in a photoshoot for Paper magazine. A month later, he was summoned by Mumbai Police for questioning in connection with several police complaints that were filed against him after the pictures went viral on social media. The image was later used as the cover artwork for the song "Goodbye Evergreen" from Sufjan Stevens's 2023 album Javelin. In December 2023, a life-size, wax figure of him was installed at London and Singapore's Madame Tussauds museums.

Awards and nominations

Singh is the recipient of five Filmfare Awards: Best Male Debut for Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), Best Actor for Bajirao Mastani (2016), Gully Boy (2019), and 83 (2021), and Best Actor (Critics) for Padmaavat (2018).