Bollywood Star Ranveer Singh Speaks About Reprising ‘Simbha’ Role and the ‘Binary’ Between Theatrical and Streaming

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The intensity of the screams rumbling within the imposing Red Sea Mall could mean only one thing: there is a Bollywood star in Jeddah.

The star in question is Ranveer Singh, one of the honorees at this year’s Red Sea Film Festival. The star accepted his award from actor Sharon Stone on the stage of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel a few hours after his talk at the glitzy festival opening ceremony.

Singh was welcomed by a feverish crowd at the festival, with fans lining up the corridors of the Vox cinema in the hopes of taking a photograph with the leading man.

The actor welcomed the audience’s reception, claiming “I didn’t expect this energy in the room but I’m all for it,” before going on to call his fans “the wind beneath my wings.” This is Singh’s second visit to the festival, having attended the inaugural edition with the event’s closing film, Kabir Khan’s “83.” Singh fondly recalled his 2021 visit, calling it an “unforgettable experience.” “Nothing excited me more than movies,” said the actor of discovering his love of cinema during his childhood. “I was very inspired by the larger-than-life heroes that we would see in Bollywood and Hollywood cinema.” Singh went on to meet one of his heroes during the festival’s opening ceremony, actor Johnny Depp, who was also present at the gala. “One of my screen idols is in the audience.