Ranveer Singh

Ranveer Singh (born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works mainly in Hindi films. He has worked across many genres and has won five Filmfare Awards. He is among India's highest-paid actors, and Forbes India has put him on its Celebrity 100 list every year since 2012. The two-part spy thriller Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026) are among the five highest-grossing Indian films ever.

Early life and background

Singh was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) to a Sindhi family. He studied at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics and then went to the United States, where he took a Bachelor of Arts in telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington, with theatre as his minor. Back in Mumbai, he worked as an advertising copywriter at O&M and J. Walter Thompson. He also spent some time as an assistant director before he started auditioning for roles.

Career

Breakthrough (2010–2014)

Yash Raj Films gave Singh his first role, as Bittoo Sharma in the romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat (2010). The film became a sleeper hit and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He next played a conman in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011). Critics praised his quieter performance in Vikramaditya Motwane's period romance Lootera (2013). Sanjay Leela Bhansali then cast him as Ram in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), a version of Romeo and Juliet that was his biggest commercial success up to that point. Gunday (2014) followed.

Period epics and Gully Boy (2015–2019)

Singh played the younger son of a troubled family in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). Later that year he shaved his head to play the Peshwa Bajirao I in Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani, which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In Padmaavat (2018) he played Sultan Alauddin Khalji and won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, shared with Ayushmann Khurrana. He took the title role in Rohit Shetty's police comedy Simmba (2018). In Akhtar's Gully Boy (2019) he played an aspiring rapper and performed his own rap songs. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, won a record 13 Filmfare Awards and brought him another Best Actor award.

Ups and downs and Dhurandhar (2020–present)

In 2021 Singh hosted the game show The Big Picture on Colors TV, and he played Simmba again in Sooryavanshi. He played the cricketer Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan's 83, which won him his third Filmfare Best Actor award. Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Cirkus (both 2022) did not do well. His next hit was Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), in which he co-starred with Alia Bhatt. He then returned as Simmba in Singham Again (2024).

Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar duology cast Singh as an undercover intelligence operative working under a false identity. Dhurandhar grossed more than ₹1,300 crore worldwide and was the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025. Dhurandhar: The Revenge passed ₹1,900 crore and became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2026.

Selected filmography

• 2010 — Band Baaja Baaraat — Bittoo Sharma
• 2013 — Lootera — Varun Shrivastava
• 2013 — Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela — Ram
• 2015 — Dil Dhadakne Do — Younger son of the family
• 2015 — Bajirao Mastani — Bajirao I
• 2016 — Befikre — Dharam Gulati
• 2018 — Padmaavat — Alauddin Khalji
• 2018 — Simmba — Simmba
• 2019 — Gully Boy — Aspiring rapper
• 2021 — 83 — Kapil Dev
• 2023 — Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani — Rocky
• 2025 — Dhurandhar — Undercover intelligence operative
• 2026 — Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Undercover intelligence operative

Awards and honours

• Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut — Band Baaja Baaraat
• Filmfare Award for Best Actor — Bajirao Mastani, Gully Boy and 83
• Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor — Padmaavat
• Forbes India Celebrity 100 every year since 2012
• A wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London and Singapore (2023)

Recent and upcoming work

After the two Dhurandhar films, Singh's next project is the action thriller Pralay, co-starring Kalyani Priyadarshan. In 2019 he also started a record label, IncInk, to promote local musicians.

He is married to actress Deepika Padukone, and the couple have two daughters.