Ranveer Singh on threats to Deepika Padukone during Padmaavat: I was filled with rage but was told not to speak

Ranveer Singh reveals his first reaction to Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Deepika Padukone receiving threats during Padmaavat. The film has emerged as a blockbuster after its release on January 25.

As protests against Padmaavat raged and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the film’s Rani Padmavati, Deepika Padukone, received death threats, the silence of the film’s team was eerie. Bhansali issued statements insisting that his film upholds the “pride and valour of Rajputs” but there was no condemnation of the violent threats and attacks on his sets, on himself and his leading lady, Deepika Padukone. The Piku actor’s rumoured boyfriend, Ranveer Singh, has now admitted he was full of rage when there were threats to chop off Deepika’s nose, in an interview to India Today.

Ranveer Singh has been receiving wide critical acclaim for his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat

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Speaking to the television channel, Ranveer talked about the time when Karni Sena members issued death threats to Bhansali and Deepika: “I was filled with rage. There’s no doubt about that. I had a very strong urge to act out, to speak out, but I was given strict instructions not to. And I had to respect that, because I was not at the forefront of this fight. It’s the prerogative of the producers, of the director. If they were explicitly telling me that me saying something or doing something is going to complicate things further, I don’t want to complicate their lives. I want to do my bit to make sure that this film gets made and it gets released. If this is what they are asking me to do, I have to abide by that.”

The actor, who is receiving praise from all quarters for his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat, further said. “I could choose to act out destructively but I chose not to. I channelled it and I put all of it into my performance. Whatever you may feel after watching this performance is born out of having felt a certain way.”

He also said he was disturbed and angry to see Bhansali getting attacked, “It’s extremely disturbing. When I saw that, I was filled with rage. How dare you do that to somebody who I worship? How dare you go to my place of worship and do what you did? All of these feelings were like a tornado inside me, and I actually had to be calmed down by people around me. Now that I look back, when the film has released and is being celebrated, I think it was a good decision to channel it into my performance because that is my protest.”

“He took his time to come out of it, understandably. But hats off to the guy when he came back, it was like a mad man. The kind of rigour and energy he was filled with was like a man possessed,” Ranveer added.

“Eventually, these perpetrators have lost. The film has won, Mr Bhansali has won. It’s a victory, the way this film is celebrated not just in our country but across the world. The kind of numbers it is posting is an indicator of widespread audience acceptance, approval and validation. I am very happy, especially for Mr Bhansali, because he has been through the most,” the actor told the news channel.

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