Sahil Khattar: The journey from being a fan to a friend has been good and gradual with Ranveer

MUMBAI: Sahil Khattar shares having a blast while shooting for Kabir Khan’s ambitious film 83. The YouTuber, host and actor, who plays the role of Syed Kirmani in the biopic, also developed a happy bond with co-star Ranveer Singh aka Kapil Dev in the movie. Not to forget the high points in their friendship being their wacky sense of humour and madness. 

While they have many scenes together, Sahil is touched by Ranveer’s kindness and support. “We have a scene where we got applause from everyone present on the set. In that scene I have this dialogue, ‘maarenge ya mar jayenge, iske aage kuch nahi’ and Ranveer replies “bhai aap yeh sambhalo mein dusra sambhalta hun’, to which I tell him ‘tu maar main khada hu na’. The next shot is where he hits a boundary. So right after that there was a 30 seconds pause and after the pause the applause started. I remember Ranveer told me ‘eyes lock karlena mere sath, baaki jo kar raha hai sahi kar raha hai’ and that one thing that he added made the scene something very amazing, the emotions came out strong,” he says.

Sharing the advice Ranveer gave him, Sahil adds, “He told me to ride the wave and capitalize it. Listen to what people say and also focus on what you think, and do not keep doing the same thing, try to be experimental. He also said ‘logo ko jo kehna hai tere baare me kehne de, your progress will speak for itself’ and praised my energy and my ability to focus. He is not just a reel life captain but also a real-life captain for me. We share the Ram-Laxman/Karan-Arjun/Jai-Veeru sort of vibes.”

No doubt Ranveer is like a big brother to the YouTuber. “When I used to make digital videos earlier for Being Indian, I used to get comments like I’m the malnourished Ranveer Singh, so I already had a connection with him. I used to dance on his songs, so the journey from being a fan to a friend has been good and gradual,” he says.

On Ranveer’s performance in the trailer, Sahil adds, “I think he killed it. He is a superb actor. I remember there was a poster shoot where I was dressed as Kiri Bhai and Ranveer as Kapil Dev. He walked in and I went like ‘arrey Kapil sir’ and the next second I realised it’s Ranveer. In fact, his reaction was similar to mine as he also said ‘Arey Kiri bhai’. So we were shocked with each other’s perfection. He is very hardworking and dedicated.”

There is much talk around Ranveer’s dressing sense. Sahil too shares his opinion. “His style is impeccable, where he wants to stand out he will do that, where it needs to be classy he does that well too. He told me that he goes with his feelings on that particular day and occasion. His dressing style is very different, quirky, very anti-fashion/trend. I look forward to continuing to learn from him,” he adds.

Talking about how Ranveer and his actor wife, Deepika Padukone, being called a power couple, Sahil says, “I feel Deepika keeps him grounded. Ranveer is very energetic, while she’s mellow, so it’s a very good balance. Ranveer is living the life of love, he’s loving what he does, he is with the love of his life and getting immense love from all over as you can see the response the trailer has been getting. Both of them are fond of me, woh jo ladla hota hai na ghar ka waisa.”