Ranveer Singh says he’s grateful for ‘whopping viewership’ of Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls: ‘People like my persona’

Ranveer Singh recalled in a new interview that his mentor Aditya Chopra had told him at the start of his acting career that he had a personality that could ‘earn more love from audiences’, if he engaged them with his ‘persona’. In the interview, the actor spoke about the success of Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls, and said Aditya’s ‘prophecy stayed with him’, and viewers seemed to have loved his ‘off-screen persona’ in his episode from the Bear Grylls adventure series, which released on Netflix on 8 July. Read more: Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls review

Ranveer said his appearance on Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls has been received well by the audience. The actor went on quite an adventure with Bear Grylls, whom he called ‘the king of the jungle’, on the show. In recent times, many famous Indians have participated on Bear’s show, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His 2019 episode was filmed at Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. Ranveer’s episode, on the other hand, was shot in the Serbian wilderness. Actor Vicky Kaushal has also been seen with Bear on his show.

Speaking about the audience’s reaction to Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls, the actor told Mid-day in a new interview, “I’m particularly pleased to see the whopping viewership statistics that have been shared with me. At the start of my career, my mentor Aditya Chopra told me that I have the kind of personality where I will earn more love from audiences [when] I engage them with my [off-screen] persona. His prophecy stayed with me over the years.”

Ranveer said although the audiences were entertained by his antics and outgoing personality on Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls, he would still prefer acting in films, than working on OTT projects. He said the big screen was his ‘main focus’, but he was ‘grateful’ to Netflix for the opportunity to ‘endear’ himself to the audience.

“I have started to believe that people enjoy seeing my off-screen persona, but I am most comfortable playing characters in movies. The big-screen offerings remain my main focus. That said, I am grateful that the OTT platform has offered me the opportunity to endear myself to and entertain the audience,” Ranveer said.

Ranveer will be soon be seen in Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus, where he is playing a double role for the first time. The film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Pooja Hegde. Ranveer also has Karan Johar-directed Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Alia Bhatt, among other upcoming projects.