'I hardly went to class in college'

Bright Future

People follow you on reality shows but not everybody becomes a star,” says VJ and actor Rannvijay Singh who was recently seen cheering school kids at the finale of Rocksport Challenge where Metrolife caught him in his adventurous avatar.

“Kids don't really get to go out and trek. They are busy either playing games or on the internet. Such events build their personality and give them some sense of belonging to a team, while also teaching them to survive outdoors and be a leader,” opines Rannvijay whose claim to fame was a reality show on a music channel, which carved his way for acting in films. He however believes, “One just becomes popular through reality shows. After that, it is you who has to work hard and struggle. If you are persistent only then do you get to become a name in films.” A lesson that he learned through circumstance. “I too struggled hard. Even after Roadies, I had to give a lot of auditions for films.”

Yet acting in films wasn’t his first choice as, “When I was young, I wanted to go into the Army - like my dad and grandfather. When I grew up, becoming a sportsman was my dream in college since I used to play basketball. But after Roadies happened, I decided to venture into acting.”

Apart from playing supporting roles in London Dreams and Action Replayy, Rannvijay has also been seen in Punjabi films such as Dharti and Taur Mittran Di, at ease with cinema in both languages. “There is a myth that if you do Hindi films then you can’t do other projects (such as regional films). I don’t know how this choice finds its basis because I feel you can do both. I am a Sikh and it helps in gaining audiences from that region. We even get a lot of support in Roadies or other shows.
Punjabi films also have a market in Australia, Canada, UK and US. And if foreign actors do French films then they also do Hollywood films and Chinese and so on. Then why can’ we?” he asks.

His decision has brought him considerable attention from the fairer sex which was already flattered by his looks. “I have been to nine schools all over the country and everywhere I was a lot into sports and extra-curricular activities and was pretty popular amongst everyone. Talking to girls and boys was never a problem in our friend circle.”

As for college, “I hardly went to the class and was busy playing basketball when in Hans Raj. Rest of the time was spent sitting around in the canteen and chilling out with friends. This whole experience of North Campus is not just like a college experience but a university experience. Anybody who has been there is bound to miss it and so do I.”

“I miss Delhi because I have a lot of friends here and so after every couple of days, I come back to meet my friends and spend time with them,” he says on a personal note. On the professional front though it has been so far so good, he craves more. “I am doing an action film which is something that I like. I would like more such interesting roles and also some that I haven’t done so far but right now I am getting ordinary, regular roles!”