Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (Sindhi pronunciation: [ɾəɳʋiːɾ sɪŋɡʱ bʱɑːʋnɑːɳiː]; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi films. Known for his work in a variety of genres, he has received several accolades, including five Filmfare Awards. Singh is among India's highest-paid actors and has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2012.
After graduating from Indiana University Bloomington, he made his acting debut with a leading role in Yash Raj Films' romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He gained praise for playing a melancholic thief in the drama Lootera (2013) and established himself as a leading actor through his multiple period dramas with Sanjay Leela Bhansali that included Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013), Bajirao Mastani (2015), and Padmaavat (2018). Singh received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayals of Peshwa Bajirao I and Sultan Alauddin Khalji in the last two, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor respectively.
He achieved further commercial success with the titular role in the action film Simmba (2018), a role he later reprised in Rohit Shetty's Cop Universe. Singh received two more Filmfare Best Actor Awards for his performances in the musical drama Gully Boy (2019), and the sports film 83 (2021). Following a brief period of career fluctuations, he earned renewed commercial success with the romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), and the two-part spy thriller epic Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026), both of which rank among Indian cinema's top five highest earners.
In addition to films, he is a prominent endorser for several brands and products. He also ventured into music, contributing to the soundtrack of Gully Boy. He is married to his frequent co-star Deepika Padukone, with whom he has a daughter Dua. Off-screen, he is known for his flamboyant fashion sense.
Ranveer Singh Bhavnani was born on 6 July 1985 into a Sindhi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra to Anju and Jagjit Singh Bhavnani. He has an elder sister, Ritika Bhavnani. His grandparents moved to Bombay from Karachi, Sindh (in present-day Pakistan) during the partition of India. His paternal grandfather was Sunder Singh Bhavnani and his paternal grandmother was actress Chand Burke, who was born into a Punjabi Christian family and was the sister of diplomat and writer Samuel Martin Burke, active in Pakistan following independence.
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". Singh's mother's cousin, Sunita Kapoor (née Bhavnani), is married to actor Anil Kapoor. Singh always aspired to be an actor, participating in several school plays and debates. However, after he joined H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, Singh realised that getting a break in the film industry was not easy. Feeling that the idea of acting was "too far-fetched", Singh focused on creative writing. He went to the United States where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications from Indiana University Bloomington in 2008. 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 also 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."
Early work and breakthrough (2010–2014)
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. Impressed by his audition, producer Aditya Chopra cast him for the part opposite Anushka Sharma. Singh described his role of Bittoo Sharma as a typical Delhi boy. To prepare for the role, he spent time with students at the Delhi University campus. Despite reservations about the film's commercial appeal from trade journalists, the film emerged as a sleeper hit. 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". At the annual Filmfare Awards, Singh won the award for Best Male Debut.
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. According to Singh, the title character had various avatars in the film, including a chirpy, entertaining side and a sinister side. 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." Singh received critical acclaim for Vikramaditya Motwane's period romance Lootera (2013), co-starring Sonakshi Sinha. 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. 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." Lootera underperformed commercially.
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. Bhansali was impressed by Singh's performance in Band Baaja Baaraat and decided to cast him for the film. Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela generated positive reviews from critics, as did Singh's performance. Writing for India Today, Rohit Khilnani wrote that the film proved that he would be a star. The film emerged as Singh's biggest commercial success, with worldwide revenues of ₹202 crore (US$21 million). Singh received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
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 ₹100 crore (US$10 million) worldwide. After a cameo appearance in Finding Fanny, Singh starred as a gangster in Shaad Ali's crime drama Kill Dil opposite Parineeti Chopra and Ali Zafar which was a critical and commercial failure.
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. Commercially, the film underperformed. 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. 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. The film earned ₹350 crore (US$36 million) to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films, and garnered Singh the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.