Original subtitles

I don't know when I'll get used to the clap.

What? It's like a dramatic clap. It's not a... It's not a... It's a...

He had created a list for this podcast back in 2019 when we

were beginning. You were on that original list. This piece was always

happen. Yeah, seems like it. What's the most attractive thing about the male

species? What's the most attractive thing about female species?

I can write an essay about that. Over to you, Maluka Mohan.

Physically, I like the strength.

Someone can take care of you.

Sounds like you're describing Prabha.

Oh God, yes. No, I'm saying something's been pulled up on the screen.

Oh, Talapati Vijay. He's one of the biggest superstars in our country. And I

just feel like he's one of the best listeners I've come across.

And now he's pouring into politics and that's what I guess you need. Film world

is going to miss him. It feels like a personal loss.

Is Malayali cuisine your favorite food?

Indian cuisine as a whole. The moment I'm in Italy, Pran, I am that tourist

will be like, yaar, koi Indian restaurant hai kya? Dal and rice. Dal

How was it growing up near Vicky Kaushal?

He's my first friend ever because I was like one and he was I think six. Did he

ever break out into like really cool dancers? He would always dance and he

like a very captivating dancer.

Are you single right now? You're asking me questions I can't answer.

What's your go -to -date situation?

Go -to -date.

I'm vibing this.

Some romantic vibes are coming out. Romantic vibes?

That's it.

I had to.

beautiful Indian lady, visits us on TRS. She's one of the great achievers that's

come out of my city, Mumbai.

Malvika Mohanan has found success in every film industry that she's been a

of. Today, she joins us for the super therapeutic conversation on PR.

I don't know when I'll get used to the clap.

Why? It's fun to watch.

And it's quite a... Animated, right? Yeah, it's like a dramatic clap. It's

thak. It's not a... It's a... Intention. Yeah.

It's so that he can see it because we can't see each other's eyes.

Oh. You shouldn't have broken the mystery around it. I thought it was just

like... No, no.

Just extracting out all these secrets.

All these secrets.

I want to... I have a compliment for you, though.

Your very nice conversational energy.

Oh, I enjoy genuine conversations. One thing I struggle with a lot, which my

work requires out of me, but I still struggle with it, is small talk. So this

great. It works out great for me. Like, hi Ranveer, nice to meet you. Chalo,

let's talk about life and spirituality and, you know, trust issues or travel,

stimulation, everything.

Do you meet, at least... In our age group, I have not met a single woman who

doesn't enjoy this. I've met some guys who don't enjoy it.

But I think every girl at least really enjoys deep talk.

It is the ones I come across. Maybe we come across artists, that's why.

Maybe. I don't know. I don't know if it's a girl or guy thing.

But I love talking to people who can hold a conversation with genuine intent

genuine engagement without the presence of alcohol.

Hmm.

A lot of people can do that when there's alcohol involved.

They need that to break the ice, to be social. At least like one drink.

Because of my profession and because I'm shooting all the time, I can't drink.

But I do want to have good conversations. Even if I go for a party,

know.

Alcohol shouldn't be a factor for good conversations.

I think the beauty of children is that children are inherently confident.

And then as you grow up, And as you go through life, life strips away that

confidence and replaces it with insecurities.

Some bad influence from your friend groups or from maybe some bad teacher

insecurity in you. And then that insecurity finds its way into social

situations. You're right. You're right because in most people who can't, and

they're great socially, but only with alcohol.

It's too much self -analysis that happens in social situations. I think

strips that away. You stop thinking about yourself and you stay raw then.

Yeah. Off late, like, I'm finding it, a lot of friends I've had since a long

time, I'm finding it hard to connect with them.

Because most of their, if you're stepping out, where do you go? You go to

restaurant or you go to a bar.

What do you do there? You drink.

If I don't want to do that, then none of them are interested in just randomly

sitting at home, catching up, talking.

Whereas my mother and her generation of friends,

They don't need this to like hang out with each other.

And that's when I realized that the shared activity when it came to a

generation was just being around each other. The activity is just presence.

going for a walk together. Or you meet at home and talk.

Or someone is cooking in the kitchen.

The other one is giving her company in that. That's it. And there's a beauty to

that. Now at least paddle a pickle.

At least that's what it's become. But at least that's better than partying,

yeah. Like, you know, always.

Have you ever been on a really bad date?

Of course.

Yeah? Yeah. What constitutes a bad date for a girl?

The person not being tuned in to you.

Not being present? Not being present. Because the whole point of a date is to

get to know each other. How do you do that if you're not present?

You know, everyone keeps talking about charisma as a skill.

Being charismatic, having a good personality.

I actually think it only boils down to great listening.

Yeah. Everything else comes out of great listening. Yes.

But we're not taught this in school and college.

You have to be a good listener.

I think you're probably right because... Yeah.

We never taught the importance of listening.

It's as important or even more important than talking.

Have you ever met someone or spoken to someone where you're hanging with them?

And they're not on their phone, but you also know they're not listening to you.

Yeah, of course.

That happens. And I feel that started happening a lot more in the recent years

since doom scrolling has become a thing.

Because of how it's wiring our brains and because our brains have used to

getting those hits so often, we've gotten rewired.

And unless we don't make a conscious decision, so the moment there's nothing

happening, it's like you're impatient.

You know what I get pissed off with when it comes to social media? Everything

you said.

But what I specifically get pissed off with is too much relationship advice on

social media. Too much everything advice.

Too much everything advice. Too much everything advice and too much of

everything is a red flag.

Like, oh, if this person does this, it's a red flag. Sure, of course, there are

red flags, green flags, whatever.

But at the end of the day, you know, every person that you'll be with will

something or the other which is not perfect. Yeah. But it's okay.

Imperfections are okay.

You know, it's up to you to judge. But as long as it's not very problematic, no

one is perfect.

You know, I feel especially from this, exactly what you're saying, to add to

what you're saying.

I feel that you go through these like trials in relationships.

You know, you go through rough periods. It's the natural course of a

relationship.

And the algorithm picks up on the fact that you're going through a trial.

And then it can sometimes amplify your own demons.

It can be, yeah, your boyfriend is an asshole. How to recognize if your

boyfriend is an avoidant. Yeah. I'm like, bhaiya, avoidant kya hota hai?

aur vice versa. You know, you tell guys that, oh, women are complex.

It's like that, woh neighborhood wali aunty jo aisa kaan bharti thi na. Now

social media. Because it's picking up on all your issues. It's listening to you.

And it's adding fuel to the fire. Yeah. It's not sorting anything.

So to switch out of social media now.

I'm going to ask you the same question but in another way.

Tell me what a really great date you've been on.

Again, has to do with conversation.

And you can tell a lot. You can tell from body.

Conversation is not just what comes out of your mouth. It's also body language.

You can tell if someone's tuned in.

Someone should want to be there. Otherwise, it's a shitty date to begin

Okay.

Are you single right now?

Oh, you're asking me questions I can't answer.

So I'll take that as a no.

I'll take it as a no. No comment.

Okay, okay, okay.

Good. I'm a hardcore, I'm a old school romantic.

I love that.

And I'm in today's day of...

An age of situation. Situation shifts are actually on every era.

Now there's just a term for it.

That's the only difference.

Ghosting also used to always happen, I'm sure. Now there's just, you know, a lot

of fancy sounding terms.

Fancy terms, fancy algorithms.

Fancy algorithms. Oh God. I think life, we're living the life between these two

things now.

Stability feels good, no?

I love stability.

Because Ranbir also, my...

The nature of my work is so unstable.

Acting in movies is, you could have a blockbuster hit and then life is great.

And then after six months, you could have other releases, three films tank

you're in a precarious position.

There is so much drama happening in work life.

I like coming back to a stable environment.

And my family and my loved ones are what keep me grounded.

And I think I would go quite cuckoo without that.

You're also a good listener.

I aspire to be. So it's good to hear that.

You don't think you're a good listener? I think I am. I think I am. And I'll

also tell you something.

It's something I constantly work on.

I always work on. Like a skill. Because there are people, I see them, they're

not really listening. They're just waiting for their turn to speak. But I

feel that's basic.

You know, I think listening is the first skill.

In social situations, the skill that every other skill comes out of.

And then the next skill is the thing called conversational dance.

It's exactly what you're saying. I call it badminton. Yeah. But yeah.

And girls can do this very easily.

It's why podcasts with women are way more fun.

Okay. Yeah. Sorry, guys.

Unless the guy is like, unless the guy knows how to conversationally dance.

And not every guy does.

And it leads to very informative but usually boring podcasts.

I know what you mean. Like even, I mean, you're comparing it to your podcast

guests. I would compare it to my co -actors.

And I have worked with some co -actors who are like amazing conversationalists.

And they're better, they're fantastic listeners.

Like who?

Like Talapati Vijay.

He,

I worked on a very special movie in my career, which was opposite Talapati

Vijay. It was called Master.

It was a turning point in my career graph because he's one of the biggest

superstars in our country.

And I just feel like he's one of the best listeners I've come across.

You think it's what people don't know about him?

That's one of the secret sources of his mega success.

In a sense, because I feel like he's not caught up in some bubble in his head.

He's realistically observing, listening.

He's figuring out the pulse of the person and the people.

And now he's pouring into politics. And that's what I guess you need to, you

need to know the pulse of the people, obviously, even for that. Read the room.

Yeah, read the room. Read the room. Just understand people better. What their

wants are, what they want, what they're saying. Just listen to them.

What else did you learn about?

through observation i really admire that he walks his talk no matter what he'll

say and it doesn't have to be something big even if he says say if i've called

him up and if i'm like okay ma i'm in the middle of something can i call you

tuesday at 5 p .m and i've randomly called him up so he's not even had time

look at his schedule and you know but if he said that he will call on tuesday at

5 p .m

Like he'll never back out of even things he'll say randomly.

You know?

So I really admire that in a person. Because we all forget.

If I've told somebody I'll call Tuesday, I'll be like, oh shit, I forgot.

Sorry. And I'll call on a Wednesday. You know what I mean? Small thing.

But in the larger scheme of things, it says a lot about a person.

Systems lead to success.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think the film world is going to miss him.

At least this phase, whatever's coming up in his life.

Yeah, absolutely.

It feels like a personal loss that he's quitting cinema. I mean, he's doing it

for his other dream. But as an audience, it feels like a personal loss. Did he

ever tell you about this other dream?

No, no, no. I mean, I worked with him a few years back.

Something's been pulled up on the screen.

Oh.

What memories of this particular photo?

I remember this.

This was shot at a studio in Chennai.

And the team of this film was like a family to me.

So I had a lovely time working on this.

And right after the scene, we shot a song, which is one of my favorite songs.

What's the most beautiful thing about life, Malvika?

The most beautiful thing about life?

The first thing I thought of was family.

Is that the most important thing in life?

It is because things that excite me, things that fulfill me at different

in life have been different.

But I think one thing that's constant and one thing that I've been

a lot more, the more I'm growing up or growing older, however you may term it,

is family.

Hmm.

Yeah.

Okay, I'm just going to take a random tangent to the middle also. Go for it.

had created a list for this podcast back in 2019 when we were beginning. You

were on that original list of names. Okay. So it's happening like six years

later. Oh, wow.

So I feel like this piece was always meant to happen.

Yeah, seems like it. But I always feel that, yeah.

And I feel like being an artist sort of reinforces that belief all the more

because I have this one notion in my head that every time...

There's a casting happening.

And I feel like every time I've reached out to the maker, reached out to the

film people and said, hey, I would really love to be a part of this.

It never worked out.

And the most impactful, the biggest films of my career have come to me when

been holidaying somewhere, chilling.

So I just feel like you can't predict what happens when. What you can do is

can be in control of your energy to a certain extent and then just go with the

flow.

Are you having fun in life?

I am. Are you happy or sad post 2020?

Oh, I'm sad, dude.

Why are you sad? I don't know what it is.

I think all of us age 20 years and five years because of just everything that

happened in the world, which is also why people love shit talking on these

podcasts. Let's shit talk.

Everyone wants a distraction from...

I do feel that, again, this is something I've thought about a lot.

I think in general, quite a bit. You're very cerebral.

I'm very cerebral.

But I feel like, A, I feel one thing is growing older.

That the things I used to get excited about at a certain age in my life, say

my early 20s or mid 20s, things that were genuinely exciting me.

It doesn't excite me the same way anymore. For example?

For example, even travel.

Travel has to feel deep.

It has to feel deep.

It has to feel. I like constantly being stimulated. I like learning.

I like learning about cultures, about people.

So I think the more we grow, we also sort of, you know, you need to be

stimulated as per who you are at a certain point in time.

So, you know, the thing you said first about how your career opportunities have

just found you and you're not chasing them.

Dude, I don't know what we're supposed to do as people in our 30s, you know,

because you've always been told to just work hard and then hustle and chase

things. And then some point in your late 20s, early 30s, you realize what you

said. That dude, shit, all the best moments have happened.

When I'm least expecting it.

So what do you what do you do?

What do you do? Do you just like stay and... I know what you mean. Like on one

hand, the physical aspect of it, like chase and hustle and make it happen. But

on the other hand, things happen in a very unexpected way.

So where I have reached, and I've thought about this a lot, like what is

right thing to do?

Should I not chase? Should I chase? Because, you know, the history,

it's been proven otherwise for me.

But having said that, I do believe that certain intentions that...

I have put out, prayed for, meditated. Like your path can be anything,

right?

You sort of take care of your energy, your vibe, as we call it. And then

happen when they have to happen. I'll give you an example.

This happened about 10 days back. Before the show started, we were talking about

my mother. And I was telling you about how my mother loves.

all sorts of esoteric arts. She's very fascinated by tarot. She's fascinated by

pranic healing, by feng shui. And she has studied feng shui and she's been

practicing it for close to two decades.

So about seven years back, she had told me that there's a feng shui which is

like a turtle.

And it sort of opens. So you write down your dream or your wish on a piece of

paper. You fold it. You put it in that wish turtle.

And you place that turtle at a certain place in your house.

So I had come back home from a long day of work. And this is literally 10 days

back. And my parents were sitting at the dining table. And I joined them.

My mom was like, oh, today I was cleaning the house. And I saw this, you

found like a wick turtle that we'd all written our things. And do you know what

you'd written?

And my mind has gone to all the possibilities that seven years back me

have thought of or wanted. And I was like, oh, God, I hope it's not something

awkward. I don't know what I've written.

And I was like, what is it? And he was like, you had written that I really want

to do a film with Prabhas.

Oh, wow.

And Ranveer, I didn't even remember it.

But I remember watching Bahubali when it had come out.

And I love Bahubali. And I thought like Prabhas was like that film propelled him

to become like the biggest star in India. And I was like, wow, I would love

work with him.

And today I'm at the brink of like my movie with Prabhas releasing.

And I'm like, damn, I didn't even know this is something that I wished for. And

did it happen immediately?

No. Did it happen in three, four years? No. It took its own sweet time to

happen, but it happened.

So the only thing I feel we can do is just sort of, you know, put it out there

and it'll happen when it happens.

She said something about turtles.

I had like a very magical life experience recently. I was in Sri Lanka

weeks. And on our second or third day, we were going back to the hotel room

after dinner.

Okay. And there's a white sand beach.

It's a place called Bentota.

And then there's your resort. And between the resort and the beach,

patch of grass.

Okay. So we were on the white sand and we were about to go into the hotel.

And then we saw this big dog kind of shadow moving on the beach.

Okay. And I put my flashlight on it. I thought it was a big dog. It was a huge

dog. Oh, wow.

Which had probably like laid eggs.

And I didn't want to go and bother it.

But we saw like a big wild turtle, which was like bigger than your average stray

dog. And we just stared at it for like five minutes.

Didn't disturb it. What a lovely experience to have.

But so much of my heart healed just looking at that turtle.

And that answered that first question about existentialism.

I think these moments in life are way more important than what you win or lose

at in your career.

Because the goal there is just to work hard and keep doing things without

expectation. But these are the moments that life gives you.

I think with age, you start appreciating the little things. You do. You do. And

you want... Life is just a collection of these kind of moments. In retrospect,

it's things that really moved you.

things that like the unplanned beautiful things. You know, but I do feel like

Gen Z really has this sort of an approach to life.

Yeah. You had a moment like this total moment which just like affected you a

because when I talk to people in their 30s a lot, they keep talking about these

little moments that they're having that actually heal something in their heart.

It sounds very silly.

These kind of tiny moments, non -materialistic. Oh, I've had so many of

yeah. And that's why I love traveling.

I love traveling and I hate the kind of traveling where I don't have the

patience for it. I love just constantly moving, diving into places, going to

places that nobody has, that are less or explode.

Like? Right after college, I remember traveling to very remote parts of

And it just took my breath away, Ranveer.

Have you been?

Not yet.

Not yet? Oh, you must go. I remember doing Ladakh thankfully before it got

with tourists. And I felt like this every day.

I would just wake up in the mountains and I would just be like, where am I? It

doesn't even feel like earth.

Do you have a moment from your Ladakh adventures which was very, very

fascinating?

I remember going to this really small village called Turtuk.

which is on the border of like india and pakistan because

they've come from the mountains and generations earlier they

must have traveled from maybe mongolia or like afghanistan like certain those

parts they don't even look in like their ethnicity is so different and that

place just took my breath away

It was just, it was a small, quaint village.

It didn't look like a quintessential Indian village or, you know, anything

seen, actually, nestled in the valleys of, you know, these large mountains.

The people are dressed in, like, you know, very tribalish attires. The kids

have, like, pink, apple -like cheeks, like how you see on, like, Mongolian

and all in pictures, like those kind of features.

And I remember walking around the village, no tourists, nobody.

And there are like apricots fresh off the trees. So if I was hungry and I

just like pluck apricots and the air is so clean, the place is so clean, I would

just eat it.

And it was just something else. It was like being lost in like a lovely

different world.

So I remember feeling this there.

I don't mean to be morbid with this question, okay?

But hypothetically, when you're on your deathbed way later in life,

Will you remember the movies you've done more or the travel more?

More than the movies, the experiences and the memories I have while filming

and certain friendships that I have, like lovely moments, that will always

in my heart.

Not the movies in terms of filmography.

Like whatever the equivalent turns out to be, we don't know. But I think it's

the memories.

It's always the...

Be it travel memories or be it memories related to cinema. I think it will be an

amalgamation of all.

Do you want kids?

I do. I love kids.

Are you actively thinking about the kids situation?

I am.

As most women.

And the conversations between most girls nowadays. It's like

your biological clock.

And your career clock are always sort of at conflict with each other, right?

It's a tough industry to crack,

man. I'm just still hustling. Says a lot.

Yeah, I mean, I love working.

And thankfully, like, since then...

Since what, 2020? Whenever I've done such fantastic films with such, some of

best artists and best filmmakers.

So it's a fun hustle. A hustle doesn't feel like a hustle if you're having fun

and making great cinema, you know.

So I do, I do love that aspect. But I also feel like,

For women, this biological clock and career thing, it's always that conflict.

And I don't mean just for an actor. Like I have my friends who are doctors,

engineers, who are just like, listen, we're at a great, 20s are for your

hustling. It's by, say, by 27, 28 is when your hustle starts paying off.

On an average, whichever industry, you know, whether you're in marketing,

when you're like climbing the senior positions, you're actually reaching like

you're becoming like a boss and, you know, you're building something of your

own.

And by then it's like, oh shit, now I have to start thinking about kids

otherwise, you know, like it'll become an issue later. So I see like most

working girls, most working, most women actually.

Every woman. Every woman. I'm sure even your friends would have had this

conversation with you. The friends, the...

you know people I meet at work or teammates every woman is having this

conversation they're like Karna I want to have kids but I don't know where to

slot it in my schedule my schedule for the next few years is so back to back so

that seems to be the situation which is when I really envy men when it comes to

this one thing yeah I agree it's very simple as a guy it's a linear path it's

annoying I'm like why why can't the biological clock just be there for like

time, you know? So this time bomb is not there.

I think a guy's 20s are way harder than his 30s.

In what way?

20s are like crazy hard, dude. Especially when you come out of college,

suddenly feel the weight of the world because every relative, every bro, every

mentor is telling you that you need to man up.

So the process of killing off that inner boy hurts a lot.

For almost every guy. And then suddenly you turn 30.

And you know your shit with your career. You also know yourself to some degree

at least.

You know yourself in relationships. In the self -improvement journey.

And life feels way simpler at 30.

After 30.

And keeps getting simpler. Can I ask you one thing?

Because you brought this up. Because you mentioned it.

What is the... I heard this from a couple of my friends. From my brother

once.

When you were becoming a man, like for a guy, like there's a phase you go

through, right? Like in your early 20s, did you have a strong male figure in

your life?

Which for most people is their father or for some people it could be their elder

brother. For some people it could be like an uncle who's really close. Did

have a solid male figure in your life who taught you what kind of a man to be?

I'll tell you something slightly esoteric.

Yes, the answer is yes.

but it wasn't one male figure. It was a bunch of mentors.

At this stage of life, a lot of my mentors are women.

I don't know how that's happened.

But in my 20s, I feel like I needed those male mentors. In my 30s, I feel

need female mentors.

The esoteric thing is that in anyone's astrological chart, there's an element

something called, like in English, you call it Jupiter.

It's called Guru Tattva in like Indian, Indic faith.

So anyone who's got, a strong jupiter you always see that they attract good

teachers good mentors i felt that at play a lot in my life but in my 20s for

this manning up thing you need slightly older men and men who are a lot older

also slightly older men will teach you aggression which you need to learn and

the men who are like really old will teach you how to be calm while also

aggressive so i feel you need a balance of both and i feel this female mentor

thing in my 30s was happening to um i don't know dude it's like it's happening

for some career thing also like to build something very large or you need very

very deep levels of empathy and that's what i'm learning from all my female

mentors now how to be empathetic towards the world but also yourself right so i

don't i don't think i have any male mentors right now. Maybe like one or

but they're just very like business specific.

But I have a lot of female mentors who I talk to like regularly to just

emotionally regulate myself.

Because that's something very crucial.

And as a woman, I never, because I always had my mom at home, you know, dad

would be away at work.

And my father had a very busy working period at that phase when me and my

brother were growing up and my brother was like five years younger to me. So

was like constantly away at work. The elder sibling?

youngest i'm the elder sibling yes two of you two of us okay you have little

elder sibling vibe vibe now i do i get that all the time i'm not but like but

but i am the one who'll annoy my brother constantly so with him i have like a

younger sibling vibe but maybe outside to the world i have a no no very very

like conscientious conscientious i

don't like elder siblings usually Oh, really? You have a younger sibling wife.

Are you one?

They set the bar too high, you know, about like how to be a good citizen, win

all these citizenship awards.

I don't think I'm filling any citizenship award.

I'll tell you that for sure.

Okay, go on, go on. Sorry. Oh, God.

No, I was just saying that my mom was always there. So that was always like a

blueprint for, okay, what kind of woman you're becoming without even realizing.

But I remember my brother telling me this once in a very casual way.

He was like, you know, and my brother can get very deep and very

okay.

And he's also a historian and archaeologist. So he's somebody...

Professionally. Wow.

He studied history at SOAS, which is the London School of... It's a very, very

well regarded college in London.

And yeah, he studied history there. He studied archaeology.

He's done a lot of digs. Where? In different parts of the world.

Wow. So he's very enthusiastic about that.

He's in Bombay? He's in Bombay. He lives here.

I have a podcast guest I've found.

Oh, you really enjoy talking to him.

Whenever I need a plus one while going for any party and I feel like I need

someone to take over, I don't have the energy, I'm too beat to lead a

conversation, he's my go -to. Hey, this is my archaeologist brother.

it's a cool thing to see also yeah you know and it's a room full of cinema

people if you're like hey you know that's my brother he's an archaeologist

they're like ooh I'm like great talk to him now you think one appreciates

history with age I find myself I always enjoyed history I enjoy it a lot more

now like I've always loved history not as much as my brother because he was

obsessed

You used to read these books called Horrible Histories. Bachpan mein. You

you would get those like tiny. They were very popular when you were growing up

at one point. It's uz zamanika. Uz zamanika. But I love history.

If you could time travel to any period in history, where would you go?

If I could sort out my self -defense, I would go into the dinosaur age.

Dinosaurs? Yeah, I want to just see dinosaurs. Just see dinosaurs.

I don't want to talk to anyone. I can just stare at this big -ass dinosaur and

protect myself, hopefully.

Oh. You've seen Jurassic Park? Of course.

I love Jurassic Park. Me too. I love it.

What a world, no? Yeah.

What about you? Where would you want to go? I keep thinking about this a lot.

I would love to go to... A lot of civilizations fascinate me.

Including like in India, if I had to pick the Harappan Mohenjo -Daro

civilization, the Chola period in Tamil Nadu, the Chola Pandya kings.

But the Cholas have done some like cool stuff, you know.

So that period interests me. But if I had to pick, it would be Egypt.

Oh, wow.

It would be Egypt.

Nice. Yeah. I just want to see Egypt in its full glory.

Because we've heard so much about like, you know, everything. The pyramids, the

Sphinx, the Nile, the mummies. And you know, what a world it would have been,

yeah. Yeah. I'm also sure it was 100 % deeply mystical.

It was a lot of mysticism. So how mystical?

And I love mysticism.

Yeah, same. It just wakes me up.

Like it hooked me into a space.

So I would love to, yeah.

Why don't people explore this concept of Egypt more for cinema?

They should, no?

Yeah. Yeah, they should. I think we've only seen Bollywood numbers happen

like dance and stuff.

Even globally, we've only seen The Mummy.

Yeah, actually. That's it. That's the only film I can remember relating to

Egypt. In fact, I always keep thinking, even in India, we have so much of

history and local folklore.

In every state, there's a different story, there's a different folklore.

Multiple, hundreds.

And we are not exploring our own folk stories enough in cinema.

I think there's going to be some wave that's going to start now, you know.

your childhood friend Vicky Kaushal is also doing a Parshuram film, I believe.

So I feel this whole cultural tale angle is going to make its way into Indian

cinema in a very deep way. And then export itself to the world. Because the

stories are very rich.

How was it growing up near Vicky Kaushal?

I mean, he was just a friend that time. Did you know he'll become Vicky Kaushal?

You think that that guy will become Vicky Kaushal?

Did he ever break out into really cool dancers? He's always been a very good

dancer. Because in childhood we used to all play Passing the Parcel. Everyone's

birthday party game used to be that.

You played Passing the Parcel with Vicky Kaushal?

Yeah, I think every single birthday.

That was the go -to game.

And then we would all do things that we are good at, right? Like, and for him,

it was always dance. Like, he would always dance. And he was like a very

captivating dancer.

But yeah, he's my, we used to be neighbors when we were growing up. And

oldest friend. Like, he's my first friend ever because I was like one and

was, I think, six or seven or whatever. And, you know, like, so since then I've

known him.

Wow. Wow.

Do you ever like meet and talk about the journey of life post fame now?

Like from playing passing the parcel together to like being in film?

Not really.

We just meet, eat good food.

My mom, my mom makes lovely, lovely South Indian food at home, Malayali

So we catch up over food and conversations and you know, not really a

reflective topics come up. Not yet.

Is Malayali cuisine your favorite food?

I have multiple favorites.

Okay.

I love Indian cuisine as a whole. Let me start with that. Full spectrum.

Because if I, the moment I'm in Italy, France, Thailand, after two days, I am

that tourist who will be like, is there any Indian restaurant?

I am that tourist. Okay. And I'm not even kidding. I don't even need two

Sometimes after one day, I'm like, Indian restaurant. And my friends who

like food connoisseurs, they'll be like, See, we told you, you know, this is

what you do. You keep running behind Indian food, but I'm that person.

But having grown up in Bombay, I grew up exposed to like multiple cultures.

So my comfort food on certain days is fish curry, rice, like the Maluk

And on some days it's rajma chawal.

Then some days it's Konkani food. I love Maharashtrian food also.

Malvani. And Maharashtrian chaat.

Maharashtrian chaat? Bombay chaat. Okay. Bombay chaat, not Maharashtrian chaat.

Bombay chaat, like vada pav and you know. Gotcha. Sev puri and all of that.

it depends day to day. But Indian food. Go to chaat? Go to street food?

Sev puri.

Why?

Why? I mean, what deep philosophical meaning is there?

How do I get it out of my head? There is depth in food.

It's a way to get to know someone's emotional side. There is definitely

childhood vibes when it comes to my fish curry, rice and fish fry. Of course,

it's mom, it's home.

You know, it's the food I link to my mother.

The sev puri, I don't know. Why sev puri? Because.

Some romantic vibes are coming out. Romantic vibes for sev puri? You've done

some sev puri date or what? No.

No? Okay.

What's your go -to date situation?

Go -to date.

I'm having a lot of fun today.

I'm vibing.

Vibing hard.

Date, date, date.

Maybe over a...

Nice meal, probably.

Where?

I don't think I have one place.

I'm jumping around. I'm constantly living across cities.

Okay, okay. So, I don't think I have one. How do you manage a relationship

you work in so many industries?

You make time.

Call. I'm in control of what project, what dates I'm giving to what project.

I make sure, like, for instance, I was working for one and a half years non

-stop until three months back.

I was shooting for Raja Saab.

My film that, you know, just come out.

So for that, as soon as his shoot ended, the last schedule, I was like, I need

a couple of months off to myself.

Otherwise, I'm feeling like too scattered, too all over the place, too

So then I like took two months off. I told my team, guys, whatever we're

signing, we'll sign both that.

So I took two months off, spent time with family, travel a little bit, sort

got that grounding.

grounding back.

So, tell me something.

What's the most attractive thing about the male species?

What's the most attractive thing about female species?

I can write an essay about that.

Say the first thing that comes to your mind.

First thing?

Emotional regulations.

Are most women emotionally regulated? More than guys. You know this whole

narrative that girls mature faster than guys. I think when you're very young,

it's about who's maturing faster.

In your 20s and 30s, it's about higher intuition.

And 40s, 50s, 60s, it's like emotional regulation.

Girls are more sorted out. On an average, obviously.

Exceptions everywhere.

We are generalizing here.

On an average, girls are just more sorted out. But this is someone who's in

their 30s. When I was in my 20s, I'd probably say like, girls are beautiful

something like that.

You know, the more surface level. Then you grow through life.

I think at every stage you find things to be attractive when you're craving for

those things yourself.

Actually, I'm thinking what you said. What am I craving right now? Or what am

really appreciative of?

But I know what you mean.

Like maybe there's an emotional maturity that kicks in a little, you know, maybe

before it does for boys the same age or something like that maybe.

You know, I think men and women are hardwired slightly differently when it

to conversation and guys are stalker.

Because girls talk so much, they're also able to iron out a lot in their own

heads. I'm thinking about like, what do I like? Like, for instance, a lot of who

I am today, the kind of woman I am today, it's because of the men in my

It's because of my father and brother.

Now, for instance, my father never once, it was never like, oh, you're a girl,

still we're letting you do this.

It was never like that.

I don't think they looked at it through a lens of,

It was always like the rules were same for both of us.

It was never put into my head, you're a girl, but we're still letting you do

this. And we're still letting you know.

It was like, okay, Adi can't do this. Even you're not allowed to do this.

not allowed to go. You're a certain age. Now you can. Adi is still a younger

age. It was always like specie one, specie two.

There was no gender thing at play.

And the way my father is with women, the kind of, you know, just how he looks at

women, he treats women.

It's how I sort of started looking at the world, you know, my sense of self

everything came from that.

So I'm very glad, like both my father and my brother are feminists. But

having to shout it out or, you know, like prove it or sort of scream it from

anywhere. They both are.

So I really, I mean, I don't know how to articulate that as a quality.

You know, I like men who have a, what I like is a man who has his own sense of,

a strong sense of self in a man.

And what I like, I don't know, in a very girly way, what I like about the male

species is the, I don't know.

That they can be protective. Like physically, I like the strength.

Like someone can take care of you.

And it's beautiful when it's obviously coupled with like emotional maturity.

you know, then it's like the male energy. Sounds like you're describing

Oh God.

No, I wasn't.

I'm saying that he seems like a guy who is both physically

daunting as well as emotionally very evolved.

I don't know his emotional aspect too well, I'll be honest. I've known him in

purely professional capacity.

Not too well as a friend -friend either, you know.

So I don't know. I genuinely don't know.

How was it working with him?

It was lovely, yeah.

I have wanted to work with him ever since I saw Bahubali.

Because I grew up in Bombay. I didn't grow up watching a lot of Telugu films.

started watching Telugu films a little later, like after I grew up probably and

started working.

But I remember like really liking him in that film.

And he had such a lovely aura and like such a larger than life persona and

charisma that I always wanted to share the screen with him.

And so when this film happened and when I sort of like met him on set for the

first time.

And I always thought he was very shy and introverted because that's what like

people say about him.

But he's a fantastic conversationalist.

He can talk really well and he's a very good listener.

And he really wants to know more about you, where you're from, what else you're

doing.

So he's a very emotionally intelligent conversationalist. That I would say.

Why do you think the universe has chosen you?

distantly, you know, seeing your journey, I'm very happy to see what was

happening in your life also.

Obviously, you've worked hard consistently.

But what else?

I think the whole point of life is to have fun.

Do things that make you feel alive.

You know, one of my most important understandings about life is exactly

you're saying. Which is that

work as well as life needs to feel like a playground.

And if it's not feeling like a playground, it's not worth the hard

not worth it because see, you're not, and I always feel this about people who

see stuck in very unhappy marriages also.

I feel the same thing. I'm like, there is no, there's no medal for you at the

end of it.

If you're unhappy, I'm like, you have one life.

Why do you want to just post something that's not working out?

Because that's it, yeah. You don't have to find any deep meaning in it,

actually.

I am really excited about marriage, kids, all that. I feel like it's like

to school again.

Do you know what I mean? Like starting school again, starting college again.

It's a new phase.

And I see that emotion with a lot of people our age. But I would have not

this 2 -3 years ago in my late 20s.

Now suddenly like... Feelings are there.

Are you excited about marriage?

I am. I am. But I feel like I don't see a very big difference between

companionship and marriage. Marriage is just sort of... solidifying what you

already have it's legalizing it but it's an extension of companionship i

look at it a little heavier than how you're looking at it okay how would you

look i don't i don't know now whether that's male perspective or not because

i've been doing a lot of reading related to like getting married

I honestly don't understand what it's like for a girl. I'm sure that narrative

we had about the biological clock, all that kicks in for a girl. For a guy, I

feel it's a lot about like preparing yourself for marriage. There's a sense

discipline you have to bring to your life on 10 different fronts.

You know, controlling your anger, controlling your time, controlling

other things. For a lot of guys, it's about controlling their lust.

But that you have to do in a relationship also, right?

Based on what I've spoken to like older guys.

it becomes difficult after like 20 30 years of marriage in urban societies

i think loyalty is the bare minimum uh but it's easier said than done like when

you act that's all what all these modern day urban narratives are about that why

is cheating becoming like a common thing uh loyalty is a bare minimum but in the

modern day with all the stimulation and all the social media it seems to be

difficult for a lot of people but my larger point is at least for a guy i

marriage is a very positively heavy

I know what you mean from the sense of that it's a big decision.

It's a big decision where I say that I want to spend the rest of my life with

this person. I mean, you don't know how things are going to, you know, hopefully

everything works out for the best.

But in that moment, you are making that decision.

This is my person.

Now that person is going to be there with you on your good days, on your bad

days.

how that person thinks, how that person feels, what kind of a person that is, is

also going to influence how your worldviews.

That's why if you're with a partner, for instance, who has a lot of like self

-destructive qualities or who's indisciplined or like something,

could really help.

What they say is true. You become like the top five people in your life. You

surround yourself with. So you also have to decide that will this, do I think

this person will be a good father?

Is this the father of my child?

It's a very important question to ask.

When do you think you'll get married?

Maybe in a couple of years.

Within?

After.

After? Just work.

Work thing.

Yeah. I'm enjoying working.

And I feel like it's also... You'll know when you're ready for it.

I'm telling you, I'm very, for me, it has to always feel right with any, with

anything that I choose to do in life.

The amount of films I have said no to, and my team's just like, why would you

say no to this? And I'm like, you know what?

I didn't feel it.

And it doesn't make sense to them because they're like, but there's a good

announcement.

You sign two more movies. And I'm like, see.

Of course, it's important to be strategic about your business decisions.

even when it comes to, like, everything in my personal life, be it friendships,

relationship, whatever it is, it has to come from an honest space. So, I'll

never feel like, yaar, I did something I didn't want to.

What's the most messed up thing about you, according to yourself?

I don't know, yaar. When you ask messed up and all, what to say?

What is the most messed up thing about you? I'll get some ideas. About me?

So much.

Say, give one or two. So much.

I'm, like...

psychotically moody but doesn't that make it tough when you're in a

it um i'm like my my partner is very good at handling that side and i think

that's the main thing that works for me oh and and i i've communicated that i

i'm sorry i can't control this and it's been there since childhood so i i do

think i'm borderline some some deeper issues which i've just kind of saved

myself from

From a mental health perspective, I think I'm fairly sane.

And I meditate a lot to control this exactly.

That's the most messed up thing about me. And the people who work with me also

know this. But I'm not toxic at all. I think.

I'm not toxic.

All these guys know.

I know that when they meet me, they also don't know usually what to expect.

okay because i don't know what to expect i'm not in control but as long as i'm

being a good boy and meditating like i know from a female perspective i would

find it very tricky to date somebody who's moody like i i would i would be

did i say something and that would go into the overthinking mode it's because

me you know so it's good it's good that your partner can You guys can have an

understanding. I've learned from football, okay?

In sport in general, it always pays off to over -communicate. At the

workplace... I love over -communicating. I love it. I think it's the best.

It helped me pole vault this issue in my personal life. That every time if I

feel my behavior is affecting my loved ones, I'll just over -communicate. So

it's not... Don't worry. I'll be back.

It's so much better.

And I feel like, you know, when I see couples who don't communicate, I feel

like, this is it.

And as a third person, I can see what's going on. But when you are the couple,

you have a tunnel vision.

You're in your head feeling what you're feeling, the other person's feeling

what... And I'm like, why can't they just talk, you know? But your most

up thing?

I'll tell you one thing that was quite messed up about me.

Which I would like to believe I changed.

And then I'll tell you something which I still feel as ki abhi bhi messed up

hai. So, I don't come across as somebody who's, you know, too perfect.

Dil se baat karo. Dil se baat karo. Toh ek baat hai ki for the longest time na,

I feel like I couldn't say sorry.

I couldn't. Like, agar kisi ne bola ki you've done this and, you know, I felt

bad, I would get defensive.

I'm like, but I did this because of... So, my intentions are good.

But I wouldn't communicate with the right way.

And I wouldn't take accountability. I wouldn't know how to take accountability

and articulate. Listen, I hurt you. I'm sorry. You think you've ever been a bad

girlfriend? Or partner?

See, I don't know.

You'll have to ask.

I think when I was younger, I was not the best partner. Yeah, me too. I think

maybe when I was younger, I was not the best partner.

Mainly because I also feel like I didn't have... This also happens with age.

You know, we learn a lot of things through a course of time.

I don't feel I could take accountability for a lot of things.

But then I changed that.

Now I can, now if I feel like if I'm wrong, I feel like, you know, handle it,

this thing, handle it tactfully.

Tact is also one thing I didn't know for a very long time.

Because I grew up with a mother who's very... Very direct. My mother's a very

direct person. Very no -nonsense, very direct.

And also, it's that ghar ka bubble, na?

And then I would go out to my workspace and even I would be very direct. No, no,

no, I didn't like this. But how can you change the shot?

And then I started realizing, oh, damn, you know, this is not working.

You can communicate the same thing in a different way. And tact is very, very,

very crucial.

You know, it's one of the hardest skills to teach a young person also. Because

how do you teach tact to someone?

Like it's something one learns through mistakes, I feel. And I also feel it's

something you learn at home.

You learn.

It's by seeing your parents.

Because I've seen my other friends who are more tactful than me.

And I'm like, oh, it makes sense. Because aunty or uncle handle things in

certain way.

You know. So children learn in childhood.

You know, tact is the positive flip side of being manipulative.

Yeah. The negative version of tact is being manipulative. Yeah. Tact is just

knowing in what tone...

How should you communicate?

To move work forward or to move purpose forward.

Yeah. I have an internal feeling that this is the end of the episode.

Your battery got done.

Is this the end of the episode?

Keep one camera rolling.

Go for it, Malika Mohanan.

I'm tripping on this clap.

It's an energy release also.

Feeling psychic vibes in this room?

How do you feel? I feel good. And actually, a lot of elements that you

the, I think, like, things like the Tibetan elements, it takes me back to

my childhood because...

My father used to take us to a lot of like remote monasteries in Arunachal

Pradesh, Sikkim. Like we've traveled, we've done a lot of road trips across

India. And I've seen a lot of Tibetan Buddhist influences growing up. So a lot

of elements in this room are like taking me to that space.

That's the first thing I saw even when I saw the bell and you know.

Your first guest who's noticed that it's a Tibetan bell.

I have a compliment for you to end the episode.

You're a great actor.

And like, again, as I said earlier, respect for the hustle.

But, you know, on a very human, like, conversational level, it's been really

nice talking to you. You have a very grounding presence for people around

So, I think what you've done really, really right is that you've kept your

alive. Like, inside you.

And trust me, I meet people for a living. Not everyone's able to keep

inner child alive.

I think even I had to...

Really find the child and drag it back.

Drag it back. Bring it back.

Get back inside.

You know, the thing you're talking about social situations and how when you're a

kid, you're very confident and the world puts insecurities on you.

Somehow you shed off those insecurities and start growing your career and you

become socially good.

Once you become kind of famous, heavier levels of insecurity are put on you.

And then you have to go through that rebirth again.

So right now, I feel like work is play.

It genuinely feels like play.

And I look forward to meeting other kids in the playground like yourself.

Hope you have a great marriage and all that also.

Marriage and all that also. You too, Ranveer.

Hope you have a great marriage and all that also.

Yeah, yeah.

Good luck with your career. Good luck with your math. Thank you. It's been

just like chilling with you. It has. It's been lovely talking to you as well.

Thanks. Cool?

That's it.

I had to.