Ranveer Singh: My aim is to do films that have longevity

Agencies
May 6, 2018

New Delhi, May 6: Bringing versatility with every film has been Ranveer Singh’s aim from the beginning as the actor believes in always surprising the audience with his work. For the 32-year-old actor, it is essential to be a versatile performer and growing up, he has aspired to have a “chameleon-like quality”.

“You watch one film of an actor and then the other one and you can’t believe it is the same person… I used to find that very fascinating. Actors who have that chameleon-like quality, they are able to be anything. I have always aspired to be like that,” Ranveer said.

This outlook somehow reflects in the choice of films the actor makes. Within a year, in 2013, Ranveer played a doe-eyed conman in Lootera and did a complete switch as a larger-than-life passionate lover in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela. Two years later, the actor was seen playing a rich happy-go-lucky brat in Dil Dhadakne Do and embraced the armour of a fearless Maratha warrior in Bajirao Mastani.

His roles in upcoming films are as stark as they come – he has turned rapper for Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy and a cop in the Rohit Shetty-directed Simmba.

“For me, it is important to keep switching it off drastically for myself and for my audience. I want audience to expect the unexpected. As an audience, it is very exciting to have this thought that what will this performer do next.  That is something I aspire to have for myself. It is a constant endeavour to be a versatile performer,” he said.

This year, Ranveer’s box office report card boasts of the blockbuster Padmaavatand the actor says, both good content and commercial success matter to him.

The actor says he is glad that he is considered a “good actor”, who is a part of some “memorable films”. “There is a sense of responsibility that comes with it (success), that is without having an inflated or delusional sense of self-importance. Being in the position that I am in, it comes with a certain level of responsibility, what kind of cinema I am choosing to be part of. My endeavour is to do films that have the best of both the worlds…”

Ranveer says his aim is to do films that have “longevity”.

“I am not here to do films that come and go and score just big numbers but have absolutely no lasting memory. So the attempt is to do films that can grow and develop the film industry, that can do well for the commerce side of things and yet be world-class.”

The actor believes the future of Hindi cinema is in good hands as the younger generation are finding interesting stories to tell. Ranveer feels blessed to be working with some of the finest filmmakers like Bhansali, Zoya, Rohit and Kabir Khan. “… A lot of it is something that I have earned, like the distinction of being a three-time Bhansali (films’) leading man, two-time leading hero in Zoya’s films and to be collaborating with Rohit and Kabir for the first time.”

At a time when language is not a barrier and cinema is travelling across the globe, Ranveer hopes to be a part of a wave that takes Indian content globally.

“I want material that has global appeal to be produced in India. I think we have the potential to do it. I have been interacting with new-age filmmakers who have a different vision,” he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 10,2020

Feb 10: Bong Joon-ho’s film “Parasite” starts in a dingy, half-basement apartment with a family of four barely able to scratch out a life. There must be no place to go but up, right? Yes and no. There’s nothing predictable when the South Korean director is on his game.

This dark, socially conscious film about the intertwining of two families is an intricately plotted, adult thriller. We can go up, for sure, but Bong can also take us deeper down. There’s always an extra floor somewhere in this masterpiece.

It tells the story of the impoverished four-person Kim family who, one by one, and with careful and devious planning, all get employed by the four-person affluent Park family — as a tutor, an art teacher, a driver and a housekeeper. They are imposters stunned by the way wealth can make things easier: “Money is an iron. It smooths out all the creases,” says the Park patriarch with wonder.

Bong, who directed and wrote the story for “Parasite,” has picked his title carefully, of course. Naturally, he’s alluding to the sycophantic relationship by a clan of scammers to the clueless rich who have unwittingly opened the doors of their home on a hill. But it’s not that simple. The rich family seem incapable of doing anything — from dishes to sex — without help. Who’s scamming who?

Bong’s previous films play with film genres and never hide their social commentary — think of the environmentalist pig-caper “Okja” and the dystopian sci-fi global warming scream “Snowpiercer.” But this time, Bong’s canvas is a thousand times smaller and his focus light-years more intense. There are no CGI train chases on mountains or car chases through cities. (There is also, thankfully, 100% less Tilda Swinton, a frequent, over-the-top Bong collaborator.

The two Korean families first make contact when a friend of the Kim’s son asks him to take over English lessons for the Park daughter. Soon the son (a dreamy Choi Woo-sik) convinces them to hire his sister (the excellent Park So-dam) as an art teacher, but doesn’t reveal it’s his sis. She forges her diploma and spews arty nonsense she learned on the internet, impressing the polite but firm Park matriarch (a superb Jo Yeo-jeong.)

The Park’s regular chauffer is soon let go and replaced by the Kim patriarch (a steely Lee Sun-kyun). Ditto the housemaid, who is dumped in favor of the Kims’ mother (a feisty Jang Hye-jin.) All eight people seem happy with the new arrangement until Bong reveals a twist: There are more parasites than you imagined. The clean, impeccably furnished Park home will have some blood splashing about.

Bong’s trademark slapstick is still here but the rough edges of his often too-loud lessons are shaved down nicely and his actors step forward. “Keep it focused,” the Kim’s son counsels his father at one point. Bong has followed that advice.

There are typically dazzling Bong touches throughout. Just look for all the insect references — stink bugs at the beginning to flies at the end, and a preoccupation with odor across the frames. And there’s a scene in which the rich matriarch skillfully winds noodles in a bowl while, in another room, duct tape is being wrapped around a victim and classical music plays.

Bong could have been more strident in his social critique but hasn’t. There are no villains in “Parasite” — and also no heroes. Both families are forever broken after chafing against each other, a bleak message about the classes ever really co-existing (Take that, “Downton Abbey”).

“Parasite” is a worthy winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the first South Korean movie to win the prestigious top prize. The director has called it an “unstoppably fierce tragicomedy.” We just call it brilliant.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 27,2020

New Delhi, Jun 27: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Friday condemned the alleged custodial deaths of a man and his son who were arrested for allegedly violating lockdown restrictions in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu on June 19.

The 37-year-old actor who is currently staying with her husband Nick Jonas in America took to Twitter to post her statement and asked for the guilty to be punished.

"Reeling from what I'm hearing. Absolutely stunned, sad, and angry. No human being deserves such brutality, whatever be their crime," said Jonas.

"The guilty must not be allowed to go unpunished. We need facts. I cannot even begin to imagine what the family must be going through," she added.

Priyanka went on to urge people to use their collective voice to seek justice for the deceased.

"Sending strength and prayers. We need to use our collective voices to seek #JusticeForJayarajandBennicks," her statement further read.

The father-son duo from Tuticorin was allegedly brutally punished by the police before succumbing to injuries.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 26,2020

New Delhi, May 26: As the country celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr in the testing times of coronavirus this year, megastar Shah Rukh Khan's greetings reflected of blessings from the almighty to help the countrymen sail through the tough times.

The 54-year-old actor took to Twitter to extend Eid greetings to his fans.

"May the blessings of Allah see us through these times," he wrote in the tweet.

"In the end, it's Faith that keeps us going... Eid Mubarak to all. May He shower all with love, peace and prosperity always," Khan's tweet further read.

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the conclusion of the holy month of Ramzan, which is a month of fasting and prayer for the Muslim community.

This year, Eid is being celebrated amid a nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.