Ranveer Singh

Singh at a promotional event for Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010

In 2010, Singh auditioned for a lead role in Maneesh Sharma's Band Baaja Baaraat, a romantic comedy from the production company Yash Raj Films.[14] Impressed by his audition, producer Aditya Chopra cast him for the part opposite Anushka Sharma.[15][8] Singh described his role of Bittoo Sharma as a typical Delhi boy.[8] To prepare for the role, he spent time with students at the Delhi University campus.[13] Despite reservations about the film's commercial appeal from trade journalists,[16] the film emerged as a sleeper hit.[17] Singh's performance was praised, with Anupama Chopra of NDTV writing that Singh was "pitch perfect in the role of the uncouth but good-hearted small town slacker".[18] At the annual Filmfare Awards, Singh won the award for Best Male Debut.[19]

Following Band Baaja Baaraat, Singh signed on for Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, a romantic comedy once again produced by Chopra, directed by Maneesh Sharma, and co-starring Anushka Sharma. He played a conman Ricky Bahl who cons girls for a living but finally meets his match.[20] According to Singh, the title character had various avatars in the film, including a chirpy, entertaining side and a sinister side.[7] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India wrote, "Ranveer is, well Ranveer: your average Joe kind of hero who looks convincing enough as Sunny, Deven, Iqbal, Ricky, his sundry avatars."[21] Commercially, Ladies vs Ricky Bahl performed moderately well. Singh received critical acclaim for Vikramaditya Motwane's period romance Lootera (2013), co-starring Sonakshi Sinha.[22] An adaptation of O. Henry's short story The Last Leaf, the film tells the story of Pakhi Roy Chowdhury, a young Bengali woman who falls in love with Varun Shrivastava, a conman posing as an archaeologist.[23][24] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote that Singh "brings a quiet sensitivity to Varun, and occasionally a smoldering intensity. Offering a finely internalized performance, he leaves a lasting impression."[25] Lootera underperformed commercially.[26]

Singh with Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Leela Bhansali at an event for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela in 2013

Singh next starred opposite Deepika Padukone in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, titled Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, in which he played Ram, a Gujarati boy based on the character of Romeo.[27] Bhansali was impressed by Singh's performance in Band Baaja Baaraat and decided to cast him for the film.[28] Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela generated positive reviews from critics, as did Singh's performance.[29] Writing for India Today, Rohit Khilnani wrote that the film proved that he would be a star.[30] The film emerged as Singh's biggest commercial success,[31] with worldwide revenues of ₹2.02 billion (US$25 million).[32] Singh received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[33]

In 2014, Singh starred as a Bengali criminal in Ali Abbas Zafar's Gunday, alongside Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan.[34][35] David Chute of Variety praised Singh's screen presence and wrote that he "tucks the movie's center of interest under his arm and takes it with him — even though he has the could-be-thankless "good brother" role".[36] Also, Singh's chemistry with Kapoor was considered by critic Rohit Khilnani to the prime asset of the film.[37] Gunday proved to be Singh's biggest box office opener,[38] and eventually emerged a box-office success with a revenue of ₹1 billion (US$13 million) worldwide.[39] After a cameo appearance in Finding Fanny, Singh starred as a gangster in Shaad Ali's poorly received crime drama Kill Dil opposite Parineeti Chopra and Ali Zafar.[40][41]

Zoya Akhtar's ensemble comedy-drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), produced by and cameo-starring her brother Farhan Akhtar, featured Singh alongside Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah and Priyanka Chopra as the younger sibling of a dysfunctional Punjabi business family who aspires to become a pilot. Writing for Mumbai Mirror, Kunal Guha found Singh to be the "surprise element" of the film; he praised his "immaculate comic timing" and took note of his subtlety.[42] Commercially, the film underperformed.[43] He next reunited with Bhansali in the period romance Bajirao Mastani (2015), opposite Padukone and Chopra. He portrayed Bajirao I, for which he shaved his head and to prepare, he locked himself in a hotel room for 21 days.[44][45] Raja Sen wrote that Singh "brings his character to life and does so with both machismo and grace", and commended him for his perfecting his character's gait and accent.[46] The film earned ₹3.5 billion (US$44 million) to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films, and garnered Singh the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[47][48]

Singh at the 61st Filmfare Awards ceremony, where he won the Best Actor award for portraying Bajirao I in Bajirao Mastani (2015)

In 2016, Singh starred in Aditya Chopra's comedy-romance Befikre opposite Vaani Kapoor. He played Dharam Gulati, a stand-up comic whose romantic liaisons with Kapoor's character leads to conflict between them. Set in Paris, Befikre marked the fourth project to be directed by Chopra.[49] Singh performed a nude scene for it, a rare occurrence in an Indian film.[50] Jay Weissberg of Variety found the film to be an "overly energetic twist on the old friends with benefits theme" and criticised Singh's "manic behavior".[51] It underperformed at the box office.[52]

After a year-long absence from the screen, Singh portrayed Alauddin Khilji, a ruthless Muslim king, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama Padmaavat (2018), co-starring Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor, which marked his third collaboration with Bhansali and Padukone.[53] Right-wing Hindu groups speculated that the film distorted historical facts, and issued violent threats against the cast and crew. The film's release was deferred and was allowed for exhibition after several modifications were made to it.[54][55] Ankur Pathak of HuffPost criticised the film's misogynistic and regressive themes, but praised Singh for his "astute brilliance" in depicting Khilji's bisexuality.[56] Rajeev Masand opined that he "plays the part with the sort of grotesque flamboyance that makes it hard to look at anyone or anything else when he's on the screen".[57] Padmaavat's production budget of ₹2 billion (US$25 million) made it the most expensive Hindi film ever made at that time.[58] With a worldwide gross of over ₹5.7 billion (US$71 million), it ranks as Singh's highest-grossing release and is among India cinema's biggest grossers.[59][60] He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (shared with Ayushmann Khurrana for Andhadhun) and gained a Best Actor nomination at the ceremony.[61][62]

At the end of the same year, Singh played the titular corrupt policeman in Rohit Shetty's action comedy Simmba, based on the Telugu-language film Temper (2015), co-starring Sara Ali Khan and Sonu Sood, which marked his first collaboration with filmmaker Karan Johar, who co-produced the film with Shetty.[63][64] Despite disliking the film, Uday Bhatia of Mint credited Singh for playing his "cardboard creation" of a character with an "underlying sweetness that renders it more winsome than the humourless masculinity of Devgn's Singham".[65] With worldwide earnings of ₹4 billion (US$50 million), Simmba emerged as Singh's second top-earning Indian film of 2018.[59]

Singh reteamed with Zoya Akhtar on Gully Boy (2019), a musical inspired by the life of the street rappers Divine and Naezy.[66] Singh found little in common with his character of a poor man who aspires to become a rapper, and in preparation he underwent acting workshops and spent time with both Divine and Naezy. He performed his own rap songs and was pleased that the film brought attention to India's underground music scene.[67] The film premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.[68] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter commended him for displaying a "pleasingly full emotional range that extends to drama and hip-hop" and writing for Film Companion, Baradwaj Rangan praised his ghetto accent and found his understated performance to be a "superb showreel for his range".[69][70] Gully Boy won a record 13 Filmfare Awards, and Singh received another Best Actor award.[71]

In 2021, Singh started hosting the television game show The Big Picture, which lasted for one season.[72][73] He reprised his role as Simmba in Shetty's action film Sooryavanshi (2021) in an extended cameo.[74] Singh then portrayed cricketer Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan's 83 (2021), a sports film based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Initially planned for a 2020 release, 83 was delayed several times owing to casting and pre-production that postponed filming, and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[75] Reviews for the film were positive, with praise for Singh's portrayal of Dev.[76] Made on a budget of ₹270 crore, the film had a worldwide gross of ₹190.86 crore and was deemed a box-office bomb.[77] Singh's performance won him his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[78]

Singh's first film of 2022 was Jayeshbhai Jordaar, a satire about female infanticide in India. Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost disliked the film but commended him for "transform[ing] his body, body language and demeanour, his posture, his walk, his gestures and his entire personality" for the part, similar to how he had "metamorphosed" to play Dev in 83.[79] The film also failed commercially.[80]

Singh will next appear in Rohit Shetty's Cirkus (2022), in which he will play dual roles.[81] He is also slated to star in Karan Johar's romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani opposite Alia Bhatt.[82]