"Entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment." This is how actor Ranvir Shorey describes his latest work, the MX Player series Bindiya Ke Bahubali.
But often with entertainment comes censorship. And when it's not state-imposed, filmmakers and writers have a self-censorship mechanism that kicks in when they see that there may be no takers for their project.
Ranvir Shorey believes there's a long way to go for Indian society to come of age when it comes to censorship.
"I don't think our society is mature enough to deal with no censorship. I think it stems from there. If our society would manage to express their dislike and disdain without violence, we probably wouldn't have censorship," Ranvir Shorey told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
Artistes navigate the "current environment" with what else but their creativity, something which Bindiya Ke Bahubali's director Raj Amit Kumar did.
The series originally had a different title, and fictional names of the castes were used in the absurdist comedy drama instead of the real ones.
According to the director, there are two kinds of censorship.
"One type of censorship is state censorship which happens through the Censor Board and which everybody, including the producers and filmmakers, become obligated to (agree to). Then there is a second level of censorship which is financial in nature. You can call it a negotiation between an artist who has gone to a producer asking for money for the story they want to tell.
"That was a negotiation that 'Let's not have the real names of the castes. You would still be able to create that universe and tell your story. If I have a producer who would say 'Take the real names', I would love to do that..." he told NDTV.
In Bindiya Ke Bahubali, Ranvir Shorey plays Chote Davan, a potty-mouthed peacemaker-gangster of sorts who belongs to the Davan gangster family that rules the fictional Bihar town of Bindiya.
What the actor loved about his part was it wasn't written using "broad strokes of violence".
"Everybody thinks they are a gangster until the real gangsters or the cops show up. Because I started with comedy and this part has some humour, but it's not comedic. It's a dramatic part. I started with comedy but slowly I have fortunately managed to move towards different kinds of parts. The most attractive aspect about this part is that on the face of it, it seems like a rustic gangster but it's far more nuanced and layered."
About the show, Ranvir Shorey said, "It has got violence, sex and cussing... It's entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment..."
Asked if he was referring to the famous tagline from the Vidya Balan-starrer The Dirty Picture, "That was The Dirty Picture, this is bloodier, dirtier picture."
The former video jockey started out in Bollywood in the early 2000s with Ek Chhotisi Love Story and went on to establish a name for himself in the comedy space with Khosla Ka Ghosla, Bheja Fry, and Mithya. He never restricted himself to any genre even though audiences tend to remember him for his light-hearted roles.
There are films such as Lakshya, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Titli, Sonchiriya, and Traffic Signal.
Does Ranvir Shorey look back on his films?
"I don't sit and dwell over my past work. I spend more time worrying where the next one is going to come from. Dominic (from Traffic Signal) is special, I have to say. That was again a very fabulous part. That love story between Dominic and Konkona's character (Noorie)... That love story was fabulous and I wish I get more parts like that. It's one of those parts which is still very close to me."
The actor also dabbled into the reality series space. In 2014, he participated in the stunts show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 5, serving as the host on the dancing series Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 the same year.
In 2024, he featured on Bigg Boss OTT season three last year, finishing as the second runner-up
With Bigg Boss season 19 is underway, we asked Ranvir Shorey - "How real is Bigg Boss?"
The actor said, "It's not scripted but broadly they are able to manipulate you. If I'm controlling your food and water, or either tell you that 'If you don't do this, you'll be tied outside'. You'll obviously do something in the opposite direction.
"There is obviously a broad manipulation otherwise how will it create entertainment? If you don't create conflict, who is going to watch the show? But it's not scripted. Nobody was telling us 'Yaar, tu ja ke ise ye bol, ab tu usse lad'. Aisa nahin hai."
Ranvir Shorey will return as Chote Davan in the season two of Bindiya Ke Bahubali.
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