Ranveer Singh and I took this decision together. He was talking to the paper for a long time. It didn’t happen at first, but eventually it did. It was a demanding shoot as he had to be in a certain body shape and I wanted to show him in a different posture.
How long did it take to finish this shoot?
Around 3 hours.
Where was this photoshoot done?
Mehboob Studio in Bandra
How did Ranveer adapt to the physicality he needed?
I don’t think he needed any major physical change from his side as he is almost always in shape. If you remember, Paper Magazine took pictures of Famous Kim Kardashian. He included me too. I have worked with them before. This was my first meeting with Ranveer.
Being comfortable in the first meeting must not have been easy. Ranveer was blushing or was he conscious?
We were very comfortable as soon as we met. No Ranveer was neither blushing nor conscious. He performed very well. There was big and healthy mutual respect for each other. I think he was also aware of my body of work. To be honest, I don’t like to shoot a celebrity unless we have faith in each other.
Did you even need to take permission from the talent wing of Yash Raj before this shoot?
I was not involved in this process. Meaning the things that Ranveer wants to do on the sets etc. All these things were between Yash Raj and the paper. I was just told that this picture should be a tribute to Burt Reynolds.
There is a lot of uproar over these pictures
We can make an issue on everything. Ranveer was quite comfortable about his body. It was enough that a versatile actor like Ranveer allowed me to shoot the way I wanted to. When it comes to celebrities, it’s often all about the celebrity. When you are around them there is a certain way you should be. But this did not happen in Ranveer’s case. We actually talked a lot about his films and the directors working together. This fuss is really useless.
Did Ranveer want to see those pictures of himself before your shoot was over?
No, I took these pictures with a film camera. That’s why he didn’t even see these pictures there.