His debut in a Yash Raj hit production earned him rave reviews. No wonder then Ranveer Singh has apparently decided to let Aditya Chopra play God in his professional life.
The actor, we hear, will not sign any new movies without his mentor's consent. In fact, he has already turned down a solo movie offered to him by UTV simply because Chopra felt the film's director Nishikant Kamat hasn't yet given a hit hindi film!
Sports subject
According to an inside source, representatives of UTV approached Ranveer with a script set against the backdrop of hockey. "Basically, the story revolves around a small town guy who aspires to play for the Indian team. And against all odds, he not only dons the national colours, but also plays brilliantly to ensure his team's victory in the championship," explains our source.
Needless to say, Ranveer was enthused by the subject. But he couldn't commit until Aditya gave him the go-ahead. "And that's when plans fell through," says our source.
"Aditya has clearly told Ranveer that he should work with only hit directors when doing 'outside' movies. And since Nishikant's Mumbai Meri Jaan wasn't a commercial success, his hockey movie was declined," adds the source.
The Chopra scion could have reservations as they've already made Chak De! India with Shah Rukh Khan playing coach to the women's hockey team, but our source reasons, "Apart from being the story of the triumph of an underdog, the protagonist's journey in Nishikant's script is novel.
And the few in the know swear that they haven't heard anything like this in recent times. That's what makes it a lot more interesting."
Then what about Yash Raj productions directed by newcomers, one might ask?
Our source reveals the Chopras' reasoning, "They maintain creative control over all their productions. In this case, they're more sceptical as they won't be creatively involved either. So following Aditya's strong suggestion, Ranveer declined the UTV production venture."