Ranveer Singh

Singh was born on 6 July 1985 into a Sindhi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), to Anju and Jagjit Singh Bhavnani. His grandparents moved to Bombay from Karachi, Sindh, in present-day Pakistan, during the Partition of India. He has an elder sister named Ritika Bhavnani. Singh is the paternal grandson of Chand Burke, maternal third cousin of Sonam Kapoor, daughter of actor Anil Kapoor and wife Sunita Kapoor (née Bhavnani). Singh explains that he dropped his surname Bhavnani, since he felt that the name would have been "too long, too many syllables", thus downplaying his brand as a "saleable commodity".

At the university, he decided to take acting classes and took up theatre as his minor. After completing his studies and returning to Mumbai in 2007, Singh worked for a few years in advertising as a copywriter, with agencies like O&M and J. Walter Thompson. He then worked as an assistant director, but left it to pursue acting. He then decided to send his portfolio to directors. He would go for all kinds of auditions, but did not get any good opportunities, while only getting calls for minor roles: "Everything was so bleak. It was very frustrating. There were times I would think whether I was doing the right thing or not."

In January 2010, Singh was called for an audition by Shanoo Sharma, the head of the casting division for Yash Raj Films. They informed him that it was for a lead role in their film titled Band Baaja Baaraat, a romantic comedy set in the world of wedding planning. Aditya Chopra, the vice president of the company, later saw the audition tapes on video and was impressed by Singh's acting, and decided that he fit the part of Bittoo Sharma, the hero of the film. However, writer-director Maneesh Sharma needed some more convincing and he was called for a few more auditions over the next two weeks until the three were completely convinced of his caliber. After the two weeks of testing, Singh was confirmed for the role of Bittoo, with Anushka Sharma playing the female lead.

Singh began dating Deepika Padukone, his co-star in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, in August 2012. In October 2018, the couple announced their impending marriage. The following month, they married in traditional Konkani Hindu and Sikh Anand Karaj (Singh's paternal grandfather is Sikh) ceremonies at Lake Como, Italy.

In 2014, Singh starred as a Bengali criminal in Ali Abbas Zafar's Gunday, alongside Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan. 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". Also, Singh's chemistry with Kapoor was considered by critic Rohit Khilnani to the prime asset of the film. Gunday proved to be Singh's biggest box office opener, and eventually emerged a box-office success with a revenue of ₹1 billion (US$14 million) worldwide. After a cameo appearance in Finding Fanny, Singh starred as a gangster in Shaad Ali's unsuccessful crime drama Kill Dil opposite Parineeti Chopra and Ali Zafar and received negative reviews.

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. Singh performed a nude scene for it, a rare occurrence in an Indian film. 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". It underperformed at the box office.

In addition to his acting career, Singh endorses several brands, including Adidas, Head & Shoulders, Ching's, Jack & Jones, Thums Up and MakeMyTrip. Duff & Phelps estimated his brand value to be US$63 million, in 2018, the fourth highest of Indian celebrities. In 2019, Singh launched his own record label named IncInk to promote local musicians.

Singh has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012, peaking at the seventh position in 2019. That year, the magazine estimated his annual earnings to be ₹1.18 billion (US$17 million) and ranked him as the fifth highest-paid actor in the country. He was also featured by GQ in their listing of the 50 most influential young Indians of 2017 and 2019. In 2019, India Today featured him among the nation's 50 most powerful people.

In 2020, Singh launched his own production company named Maa Kasam Films. He will next reprise his role as Simmba in Shetty's action film Sooryavanshi. He will portray the cricketer Kapil Dev in 83, a sports film based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup, and the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh in Johar's historical drama Takht, which features an ensemble cast including Kareena Kapoor, Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar, Janhvi Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. He has also committed to team with Yash Raj Films once again for the comedy Jayeshbhai Jordaar.

It's Ranveer Singh's 35th birthday, here's a look at five of his quirkiest sartorial choices that make him Bollywood's fashion icon

From donning a Manish Arora faux fur jacket to flaunting a tiger-faced bling chain, the actor has made some bold style statements

Happy birthday Ranveer Singh: Why he remains one of the most versatile actors of his generation

Arguably one of the most versatile actors of his generation, Ranveer Singh has shown time and again that he can reinvent himself to play different characters. On his birthday, a look at some of best works.

THIS is how Ranveer Singh celebrated his 33rd birthday

Ranveer Singh is undoubtedly B-towns favourite boy. He has managed to impress everyone with his acting on screen, and with his antiques when the came...

Ranveer Singh had a long busy day on his 32nd birthday. See Pics

Ranveer Singh turned 32 today and he celebrated his birthday with first going on late-night drive with his rumoured girlfriend Deepika Padukone, then...

Happy Birthday Ranveer Singh: The career of Bollywood’s livewire, in pics

Ranveer Singh turned 31 on Wednesday. Let's take quick recap of his life in Bollywood.

Ranveer Singh reportedly spent his 30th birthday with Deepika Padukone - Times of India

Ranveer Singh, who turned 30 yesterday, had a rather special birthday.

Don’t want to grow older, says Ranveer Singh on 29th birthday

"And yea, the Birthday's coming up...meh...I don't wanna grow older."

Happy 28th birthday Ranveer Singh: What makes him the next superstar

Ranveer Singh on his 27th Birthday

Ranveer Singh celebrates his birthday today