Ranveer singh : Khilji was a risk

Ranveer Singh's gut-wrenching and hauntingly maniacal performance as Alauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat left us all stunned and in awe of the actor. Ranveer, who is known to completely immerse into the characters he plays, got into the dark side while playing Khilji and even had to seek the help of a therapist to get him out of his system.

Given Ranveer's mainstream leading man status, Padmaavat was a major risk and Ranveer was well aware of that. In an interview with Times of India, Ranveer shared, "I was fully aware that for a mainstream leading man like me to play such a dark and evil role at this stage of my career was a risk. I was s**t scared."

Talking about the time that the role of Khilji was offered to him and how he was not sure about playing such a character, the actor candidly said, "Alauddin Khilji was a multilayered, juicy character for me to play, but personally, it was a huge risk. The time when it was offered to me, I was in a very happy and light mind space. Ideally, I wanted to do a comedy, and I wasn't ready to play such a dark character. Also, knowing my process, I could foresee that this was going to take me into some dark web. I knew that "isme ghusa toh bahut lamba ghus jaunga"

When you are playing a character like this, you have to dig into some deep, buried life experiences. To generate that kind of darkness, and to tap into it on a daily basis for so long, takes its toll on someone. It took a toll on me, too."

On what he has taken back from playing a negative character like Khilji, Ranveer revealed to TOI, "I can say that playing Alauddin Khilji has given me a lesson in humanity. I felt lighter, kinder, humbler, more sensitive and more respectful of people around me. All that darkness andkachra that was inside me, I purged it while playing Khilji. I set it on fire and it combusted. The most evil character of my career made me a better human being."