Come to think of it, the only Bollywood star who has made genuine headlines over the past half year or so is Ranveer Singh. First, there was the blockbuster run of the Dhurandhar films that pulled Bollywood out of an embarrassing rut. And now there is the Don 3 row that has led to a non-cooperation directive from a film body – not exactly the way a celebrity would love to soak in the limelight but, as they say, any publicity is good publicity.
The concept of publicity, of course, hits differently when you think Ranveer Singh, a random recall of his 16-year career would tell you. Much like the unpredictable spins he is prone to add to characters on screen, the actor’s public image has been quirky to say the least.
He has amused fans by turning up to promote Bajirao Mastani in a skirt and shocked the world only too many times – think of the Kantara moment at IFFI 2025 where he unwittingly drew High Court wrath by trying to enact a sacred ritual sequence, or the 2015 AIB Knockout that invited multiple police complaints for its allegedly abusive and sexually explicit humour. Then there was the time when, in possibly the most bizarre fashion stunt by a top star, Singh turned out at Shahid Kapoor‘s 2017 pre-birthday bash dressed in a way that reminded social media of a condom (some insisted he looked like a sperm).
Ranveer Singh at IFFI 2025 (Photo: Aajtak)
Ranveer Singh does not behave like a conventional superstar. In a sea of rehearsed interviews and public personas crafted for perfection, he apparently moves the other way. The motto always seems: This is me, take it or leave it. If the line defines his superstardom aptly, it is also the reason he might just get out of the Don 3 controversy unscathed. Somehow, people have come to expect this: With Ranveer Singh, anything is possible.
From ‘in the spot’ to in the spotlight
You’ve stayed in touch, we know, but here’s a quick reckoner on all that’s happening with Don 3 lately: Filmmaker Farhan Akhtar complained to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) that Singh walked out of the film merely days before shooting was to begin, leading to losses. FWICE slapped a non-cooperation directive on the actor, asking everyone in Bollywood not to work with him.
Singh responded with a statement through his representative saying he has the “highest regard for the film fraternity and for everyone associated with the Don franchise”. He added he has “consciously chosen to maintain silence, believing that professional discussions and personal equations are best handled with dignity, maturity and mutual respect”.
Well, Ranveer Singh needn’t have bothered replying to FWICE. No sooner did the federation issue a non-cooperation directive, fans and celebrities alike were rushing to speak out in his favour. Author Shobhaa De felt what Singh “has successfully done by keeping quiet is enhance his own brand appeal and also his popularity”. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, never lacking in drama when it comes to voicing his mind, posted on X to say the FWICE action was a “BIG FAT JOKE” (note the all-caps rage). It is stars like Ranveer Singh “who sell tickets at the theatres and not FWICE”, and also “create employment to those lakhs of FWICE workers and not FWICE”, Varma declared.
Here’s Ram Gopal Varma’s X post defending Ranveer Singh:
A sentence in the reactionary statement issued by Ranveer Singh’s representative, incidentally, draws your attention: “While several narratives and speculations have surfaced over time, Ranveer has never considered it necessary to respond publicly or contribute to conjecture.”
Singh knows how to shift gears between being theatrical and going low-key. It’s a trait that indicates smart management of brand power.
“He is a phenomenal performer, we all know what he is capable of on screen. But he is equally adept as a performer off the screen,” says image guru Dileep Cherian. An ace at image building and management, Cherian tells you the actor has intelligently crafted a unique identity: “He has developed a unique style sheet for himself, and I can tell you that in the last eight years or so he has evolved tremendously.”
The push and pull of new-age stardom
For new-age stars, evolution as a brand is becoming tougher by the day. Traditional, ground-level PR tactics have run out of steam. And by now, most fans are aware that social media ‘feats’ such as going viral or trending are often an extension of a celebrity or product’s publicity mechanism. Ranveer Singh’s approach – of maxing out the impact of minimum visibility – comes across as a clever strategy.
“Almost every other male actor has been spending five times his effort to create an image. There is an obvious push factor associated with such a strategy. They push hard to impress the fans. With Ranveer, it is the other way round. He operates with a pull factor. He knows how to pull the audience towards him without making it seem he is trying to gain their attention. The idea doesn’t work for everyone, it’s been working for him, and that’s the reason, I feel, he is in the game for the long run,” says Cherian.
Box office above all
For all his off-screen strategies – spontaneous or stage-managed – Ranveer Singh is among the few Bollywood stars today who broadly let their work speak rather than overtly depend on the tested routes of PR or social media. A quick look at his highlight films reveals as much.
Band Baaja Baarat was the debut film of Ranveer Singh
Singh burst into the Bollywood scene as an unfancied entity with Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010. The romantic comedy drama was a sleeper hit, and his turn as the business-savvy Bittoo Sharma garnered immediate audience connect.
His fan count would only grow through the Sanjay Leela Bhansali phase, when his pairing with (eventual wife) Deepika Padukone took his brand value to the next level. Their three Bhansali blockbusters together – Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela in 2013, Bajirao Mastani in 2015 and Padmaavat in 2018 – also evidenced Singh’s growth as a versatile actor and a bona fide star.
Looking back, the five-year run from Ram-Leela to Padmaavat was so resounding (amped by Lootera, Simmba and Gully Boy around that period), that the poor patch that followed (83, Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Cirkus) was glossed over by most fans.
In other words, a loyal fan base that had quietly grown through more than a decade patiently waited for the next big strike. It is actually Cherian’s “pull factor” that explains why Singh remained relevant in Bollywood even during his quiet professional years.
Dhurandhar quake and aftermath
The big strike would come with Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar films. The franchise rewrote box office history, especially with the second film, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which earned over Rs 1,700 crore worldwide.
For Ranveer Singh, the Dhurandhar franchise has emerged as more than a mega success story at the box office. It is the sort of triumph that takes a superstar’s brand value to an altogether different stratosphere. After this, Singh needn’t bother about being written off in haste by his critics, as it briefly happened following Cirkus.
Importantly, as Hamza in Dhurandhar, he has redefined the Bollywood masala hero.
“Compared to this new kind of hero, the godly heroes will suddenly look ridiculous, almost like clowns in a circus. And then their blind worshippers will feel naked, exposed and scared hearing of the collections,” said filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma in an X post after Dhurandhar: The Revenge.
Filmmaker Maneesh Sharma, who directed Singh in his debut starrer, Band Baaja Baaraat, once noted how the actor “likes to push boundaries as an artiste”. From Bittoo to Hamza and beyond, he’ll continue pushing boundaries on screen with the rigour of a dedicated artiste. The importance of being Ranveer Singh, though, will always lie in how he amuses, surprises and shocks us off-screen.
– Ends
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.indiatoday.in ’
