Ranveer Singh says he had turned down his role in 'Padmaavat' of Alauddin Khilji

Bollywood megastar Ranveer Singh revealed that that he initially was not convicted about playing the role of Sultan Alauddin Khilji in 2018 mega hit film, Padmaavat.

During a discussion with Ayushmann Khurrana, Shahid Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna and Vijay Varma in CNN News 18’s actors’ roundtable, Ranveer opened up about turning down the role as he did not find himself fit to play the dark role at that time.

He expressed: “I found the character so loathsome, so despicable and so dark, so messed up. It was out of sheer fright and fear that I told Sanjay sir that this might take me into sort of a hole that I may not come out of.”

“I can see myself going a bit barmy on this guy and I don’t know if I was at that stage in my life. I was very happy. DP (wife Deepika Padukone) and I were gonna get married. It was all roses. Touchwood, Joolelaal,” he added leaving others in chuckles.

The Gully Boy star also talked about how the film director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, managed to convince him for the character that later brought him a lot of praises and a Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

“I remember that one moment on his balcony eating macchi curry. We were just going back and forth. I was apprehensive and he got frustrated. He could not have said another word to convince me. He just got frustrated, he put his chawal back in his plate like this (slams hands on table aggressively). ‘My boy don’t you want to play a character who’s got 75 kilo [expletive]?’ I was like you know what? I mean I’m on,” he said.

The 34-year-old star will be starring in 83, a biopic of famed Indian cricketer Kapil Dev along with Deepika who will be playing the role of Kapil’s wife, Romi. The film will hit the cinemas in April, 2020. Ranveer has also been roped in for Karan Johar’s upcoming mega project, Takht.