Ranveer Singh Birthday: Ranveer Singh is celebrating his 41st birthday on July 6. He is currently making headlines over his reported fallout with Farhan Akhtar regarding Don 3 and the consequent controversy with FWICE. But long before the controversies, Ranveer Singh was Bollywood’s rising superstar, the energetic outsider who quickly became a heartthrob with films like Band Baaja Baaraat and Ladies vs Ricky Bahl before proving his versatility in grand dramas such as Bajirao Mastani and Dhurandhar.
At the peak of his career, Ranveer appeared alongside Ranbir Kapoor on Koffee with Karan Season 5 in 2016, hosted by Karan Johar. What started as a light-hearted chat soon turned into one of the most memorable episodes of the show, with Ranveer jokingly saying that he was being “targeted” and “victimised” by the actor-director duo when they brought up Deepika Padukone. Deepika and Ranveer, who have been married since 2018, were dating each other at the time. Deepika and Ranbir were in a relationship during the early days of their career.
The trio first addressed the “elephant in the room”- Deepika Padukone, who was dating Ranveer at the time and had previously been in a relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. Trying to diffuse the awkwardness, Ranbir remarked that there was no awkwardness between them and added that he often hung out with both Ranveer and Deepika in social circles. He even joked that he hoped the couple would one day have babies who admired him as an actor.
Caught off guard, Ranveer laughed awkwardly and said, “Today of all days, Ranbir has decided to say something out of line. He is usually on point.” A visibly confused Karan Johar asked, “Did he say something out of line?” while Ranbir himself looked surprised and questioned, “Did I?”
After a dramatic pause, Ranveer joked, “This actor-director combination is in cahoots. I am feeling victimised here. I am feeling targeted.” Ranbir immediately joined the joke and told Ranveer, “No, no, wait. I am here with you. We are supposed to victimise him,” pointing towards Karan. “Exactly,” Ranveer agreed, while Karan laughed and responded, “Okay, victimise me.”
Beyond the banter, the conversation also touched upon career insecurities and competition in Bollywood. At the time, Ranbir Kapoor was going through a difficult phase professionally, with several films underperforming at the box office. Speaking honestly about failure, he admitted that watching Ranveer shine on screen inspired him rather than discouraged him.
“When your films don’t work, there’s confusion and dilemma,” Ranbir shared. “You watch other people’s work, especially his work, and see him shining on screen. It doesn’t depress me, it inspires me. I am glad I have competition in this guy. Watching him in Ram-Leela, Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani makes me want to do better. I am scared because this guy has no limit.”
Karan Johar then pointed towards Ranveer and said that before his arrival, Ranbir was largely considered the defining actor of his generation. He asked Ranveer whether Ranbir had become a benchmark for him.
