RANVEER-DEEPIKA interview

THE CHEMISTRY COUPLE

November 2013: Just days before the release of Ram-Leela, t2 met Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone for a chat when they were in Calcutta to promote their Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Predictably, Ranveer had done most of the talking, taking the initiative to answer the questions, with Deepika chipping in off and on.

November 2015: At the trailer launch of Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani in Mumbai last weekend, t2 sat down for a chat with Ranveer and Deepika. Two years on, it was Deepika " more confident, more assured, more talkative " who took centre stage, with Ranveer, co-star and rumoured beau, content to play second fiddle. She even answered some of the questions directed at him!

Over 30 minutes, the reel-real pair " who look red-hot together in the trailer and promise to come in all guns blazing on December 18 " spoke to t2 on their big film, Bhansali the magician' and the RanPika chemistry.

Is Bajirao Mastani the toughest film you have ever done?

Deepika Padukone: By the looks of it, yes. It's all great when it's on paper, but when you see it translate and translate on a scale that's as huge as this (points to the film's poster behind her), all of that's forgotten. Forget it now that I am even in the film... even as an audience, now that I have watched the trailer with you all, I don't know what's hit me (smiles). It's time to celebrate, you know, and now I can clearly say that everything that I have done so far has been a film... but Bajirao Mastani has been an experience (smiles).

What did you feel every time you had to go on to these huge sets and live the life of larger-than-life Mastani. It must have been overwhelming...

Deepika: It was! But then, he's (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) a magician. When people call him a director, I feel very strange because, for me, he's a magician. He pushes you to tap into places that you never expected you had in you. He pushes you in various ways... it can be a scene that's sent up to your room or he could pep-talk you into it or not saying anything and expecting you to understand what he's thinking (smiles). But I think I have figured him out a little bit... at least that much where I have figured out the days when I know he will talk to me and the days when he won't and I just have to understand.

He expects a lot from his actors and he doesn't want us to be spoon-fed. Some actors may feel that in keeping silent, he doesn't give us any direction, but I actually find that very liberating. He doesn't restrict you and as an actor, you can take your character to whatever level you want.

It's evident that a lot of hard work has gone into this one...

Deepika: A lot! (Ranveer walks in and smiles in agreement) And all the hard work may not have to do with what you see on screen specifically... it's a lot of back-end stuff too. Dates are a mess, schedules are haywire, someone's injured... But when you see it translate into this, then you know it's worth it. It's a film that he's lived with for so many years. We could see that passion on set... whatever questions we had, he had answers to all of them. This film is poetry... every song and every scene... there is rhythm and beat and sur and taal in everything he does.

Ranveer Singh: It was the one single thing I devoted myself to for the whole year. Every single day was a challenge, if not physical then mental or emotional. So many times I haven't been able to do a scene to Sanjay Sir's liking, but you get through it and you learn so much. Deepika and I used to joke that there is no easy day on a Sanjay Bhansali film (smiles wryly). Other films you have 80-90 days of shoot and you know that perhaps only 10-12 days will have emotionally charged scenes that will demand more out of you... but on a Bhansali set, that's every day. The time and the effort taken to make three films goes into one Bhansali film.

At the trailer launch, Priyanka Chopra revealed how she broke down while shooting as she couldn't handle the demands of the character (Kashibai, Bajirao's first wife). Was it the same for you?

Deepika: I think my breaking point happened during Ram-Leela itself. I remember it was my first day of shoot and I had a big scene to do. I was getting ready and he (Bhansali) sent his assistant with a one-page monologue. It was my first day... I had never worked with him before... I had never seen this scene before... nothing! When I went down to try and convince him to give me a day to learn my lines, I found that he had set up my close-up! (Laughs) How cruel is that?! At that point I was: I am never working with this man again... how can he do this to me?!' And then he looked at me and said: You will do it'. He's a man who doesn't give you an option. And now when I look back, people actually talk about that scene. He throws you into situations like these, but the end result is magic (smiles).

Even in Bajirao Mastani, there have been a different set of challenges and problems. Sanjay Sir is very meticulous about everything in his frame. He has made me give retakes for scenes and songs where I have been perfect, but a dancer at the back hasn't tilted her head as much as he wanted her to! (Laughs) There was a scene where I had to repeat a perfect take only because a small diya had been extinguished in the background. I was like: Sir, use VFX na!' And he was like: No, no it has to look natural!' (Laughs out loud)

Ranveer, you have similar stories to share?

Ranveer: I think in both films (Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani), I have had the good fortune of starting light. But ya, my experience with him as a director is pretty similar. It's option 3 for me most of the time. It's almost like he'll put you in a spot and challenge you... it's almost like: Come on, you call yourself an actor... show me what you can do'. He and I hardly talk on set. He will give you wings to fly and he allows his actors to bring in their own creative interpretation. It's so humbling to realise that a person with so much creative ability has the confidence that you will make solid choices as an actor. On set, he keeps munching popcorn or nuts and with his headphones on, he will sit in front of the monitor and watch our scenes like an audience watches a film. All he wants is that it should hit him here (points towards his heart).

And it looks like working on this film has made you super serious too!

Ranveer: (Laughs) Really?! I will take that as a compliment!

Deepika, is Ranveer a different person on a Sanjay Bhansali set?

Deepika: He is, actually. He likes to carry his characters with him... so much so that he wanted everyone on set to address him as Bajirao! (Looks at Ranveer and laughs) Or Baji or Rao... He would get upset if the assistant directors called him Ranveer and not Bajirao. Honestly, he's a chameleon... he will mould himself into any character he's cast in. When we were doing Ram-Leela, he was Ram... jovial and fun. He really gets into character and that rubs off on his personal life as well... he starts dressing like that character. I keep telling him to give his character a break when he goes home, but he hardly listens! As it is, the two of us have very different ideas and approaches when it comes to our professional lives... we differ on a lot of things (looks at Ranveer again and the two smile). He's very different from what I am, overall. But yes, talking about this film, all our energies have changed. And you know, we just finished shooting about a week ago and we have already started promoting the film... it all seems so surreal (shakes her head). In that sense, the hangover is still there... I don't think we have reconnected with ourselves yet.

How relevant is a love story set in the 18th century in today's times?

Deepika: It is very relevant. The passion, the chemistry and the sacrifice of the Bajirao-Mastani romance holds true in relationships even today. This is a very relatable story, I feel, and even if anyone feels it's not relatable, then it is inspiring for sure.

Ranveer: I think the beauty of Sanjay Sir's films is that each character is very distinctive and has his or her own sets of beliefs and values and no one's right or wrong. We had a starting point on paper, but as we went along, we discovered newer aspects to our characters and their love stories. We just went with the flow, without knowing how we were doing it. Hell, I don't know it even now because I haven't seen the film yet (smiles). All of Sanjay Sir's films have grandeur and style and mounting, but the core is pure emotion. All his characters are complex and layered and that's the beauty of his films. Personally, I am a massive fan of his and having worked with him twice over now, I have seen how he does it. There's truly no one like him. The way he treats passionate love stories... no one else can.

Is he a collaborative filmmaker?

Deepika: Yes, he's very, very collaborative. Of course, he's very smart... so if you are going to change lines or remove dialogues that are too difficult for you, then he won't accept that. But he's someone who takes a lot of inputs from his actors. There were instances when both Ranveer and I would go up to him and say: Sir, this doesn't feel right... this character wouldn't do something like this'. And if he felt that it made the scene better and contributed to the film, he would definitely take our inputs.

In Diwali 2007 when your debut Om Shanti Om released on the same day as Bhansali's Saawariya, did you ever think you would become his go-to actress one day?

Deepika: I never imagined that I would be that actor that Sanjay Leela Bhansali would want to cast again and again. In 2007, when Om Shanti Om and Saawariya were releasing, I never thought that I was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's type' (smiles). I always imagined that he would have a type of actress... I imagined all kinds of things about him and I was like: You know, forgot it. You be happy doing what you are doing'. I thought he would be someone who would look down upon me and say: Oh god, this one can't act!' (Ranveer smiles and shakes his head) I didn't ever think that I would be one of those actresses who would work with him not once, but twice... other than Ash (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who's worked in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Guzaarish) I am probably the only one. [Rani Mukerji did do Saawariya after Black.] Thank you for giving me Mastani' is what I want to tell him over and over again.

How easy or difficult was it to make your chemistry in Bajirao Mastani different from the passion play in Ram-Leela?

Deepika: (Thinks awhile) I would say 50-50. I think 50 per cent of it is on paper and what the characters are like and 50 per cent is what a Ranveer Singh or a Deepika will bring to the table. In a particular scene we were supposed to hug because that's what was on paper. But because we had gone through the journey of these characters, I remember we changed it and told Sanjay Sir that it would be better that instead of hugging, we should just look at each other. That's the kind of evolution that happens... that's what we as actors bring in. Chemistry is something very layered and intangible, ya... you can't create it... it's just there. Ranveer and I are very lucky that we have great chemistry between us. One of the most spoken about things in Ram-Leela was the fact that we look really good together (smiles). [No wonder Ram-Leela was one of the big hits of 2013, earning Rs 112.5 crore. Its budget? Rs 35 crore.]

You had a massive year in 2013. And this year, you have already had Piku, there's Tamasha this Friday and then Bajirao Mastani to finish off the year. Can it get any better for Deepika Padukone?

Deepika:You know what happened is that I just walked into a fan interaction and someone told me to say a dialogue from Bajirao... and I was like: Wait one second, I just need to switch!' (Laughs out loud) I have been in Tamasha mode and now I have been suddenly thrust into Bajirao Mastani! But yes, I am definitely not complaining. It's such a great place to be in. The kind of love that Piku got was of a level that none of us associated with the film had expected.

So when is Piku' coming back to Calcutta?

Deepika: Soon, soon, soon! If not with Tamasha, then definitely with Bajirao... or otherwise even just like that. And I don't even need to be there... I know you guys in Calcutta love me anyway! (Laughs)