Nobody tells urban stories like Zoya Akhtar: Ranveer Singh

Ranveer said: “I think Reema Kagti and Zoya are one of the best writing combinations in Bollywood.” (Source: Varinder Chawla)

Working with director Zoya Akhtar was on Ranveer Singh‘s wish-list for a long time as the actor feels she is unmatchable when it comes to telling urban stories on the big screen.

The actor plays a rich but rebellious son Kabir Mehra in “Dil Dhadakne Do”, which is about a dysfunctional family on a cruise trip.

“I loved the script. I think Reema (Kagti) and Zoya are one of the best writing combinations in Bollywood. I have always admired Zoya’s work and wanted to work with her. Nobody tells urban stories like Zoya. They are very well-written and extremely insightful about human relationships,” Ranveer told PTI in an interview.

The glossy ensemble drama, starring Ranveer, Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma and Rahul Bose, hits theatres on June 5.

Ranveer said it was great on the “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” director’s part to pull off a cast like the one in “Dil Dhadakne Do” because not many actors like being a part of an ensemble piece.

“Everyone is generally into solo films but Zoya has pulled off a great cast. I have a great part for me. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have never played urban characters before that. I hope this film helps me explore my versatility further,” said the 29-year-old actor.

“Zoya has explored the quirks and dysfunctional beautifully. It is black humour but the movie is really funny and there is healthy dose of romance too. Yes, it looks very glossy because protagonists are supposedly rich people. They are rich people going through some crisis,” he added.

Currently recovering from a shoulder injury that he endured during the shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ambitious period drama “Bajirao Mastani”, Ranveer is looking forward to the promotions of Zoya’s film.

Since most of the time was spent on a cruise, the actor said everyone had a gala time working on the movie except the director and her team.

“The shoot experience was really the best that I ever had. It is an ensemble piece so every actor would get off days and we were on cruise and would travel to different exotic places. There were some 200 young people working on the movie and we would party the whole night,” said Ranveer.

The actor said compared to his gruelling schedule on “Bajirao”, working on “Dil Dhadakne Do” felt like holiday.

“‘Bajirao’ is a lot of hard work compared to Zoya’s film as it is very intense and high octane. On Zoya’s film even the worst day required you to just sit and talk. I am glad that I got to do this film just before ‘Bajirao’.

“We had a blast. I would go out a lot with Anil while Farhan was our designated DJ. We partied hard but were back to work by six in the morning.”

Source:: Indian Express