THE GULLY BOY has grown up. And how.

After a few forgettable outings at the box office — read Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022) and Cirkus the same year — when people were beginning to wonder about his bankability as an actor, Singh came back with the Karan Johar directorial Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani the following year, which got people talking about his performance once again. Singh played Rocky Randhawa, a flamboyant Punjabi and a fitness freak with a heart of gold. This performance reiterated Singh’s enormous talent, evident from the time he stormed into the movie business in 2010 with Yash Raj Films’ Band Baaja Baaraat, where he played the quirky wedding planner Bittoo Sharma opposite Anushka Sharma. That film went on to become a major hit, and Ranveer Singh announced his arrival in Bollywood.

Cut to 2025. Singh headlined what would turn out to be a record-breaking megahit, Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, a film where Singh plays an undertrial who is given a chance to redeem himself when the government sends him to Pakistan as an undercover agent. The Jio Studios production, which also had an ensemble cast and a clutter-breaking soundtrack which also became a rage, firmly established Singh as one of the most successful — and important — actors of his generation.

Singh followed it up with Dhurandhar: The Revenge in March 2026, and together the two films raked in over ₹3,200 crore worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film franchise of all time.

Quirky to intense

Known earlier for his effervescent nature, quirky dress sense, and for pushing boundaries (he even posed nude for a magazine), Singh’s enormous talent and intensity was never in doubt for those who followed his career. A Sanjay Leela Bhansali favourite, the celebrated auteur cast him in three of his defining films — Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela (2013), a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, where he was paired with Deepika Padukone (who he later married); Bajirao Mastani (2015, where he starred with Padukone and Priyanka Chopra); and Padmaavat (2018), the latter seeing him play the Mughal sultan Alauddin Khilji in an intensely negative role, again with Padukone as his co-star. All three films were commercial successes, with Singh being hailed as a major talent in the Hindi film firmament. For the Khilji part, Singh locked himself up for long stretches, contemplating ways of essaying the genre-bending role.

This ability to move effortlessly between fun, quirky, and intense is what defines Ranveer Singh’s persona. An extremely intelligent actor who counts Daniel Day-Lewis among his favourite Hollywood actors and who listens to music composers like Hans Zimmer, Singh is a man of multiple hues, a force of nature. Urbane, yet with the ability to play the earthy Jayeshbhai; goofy yet soulful, Singh’s range is what endears him both to his audiences and an array of top-of-the-line brands.

Brands’ favourite

Some years ago, when Singh was signed on by Maruti Suzuki for its Ciaz brand, he was seen as the perfect fit. Singh was the challenger who entrenched himself as a success in his own right, and Ciaz, too, was a challenger brand at the time. For Maruti’s premium retail channel NEXA too, the car company positioned him as a metaphor for delightful experiences for customers and viewers.

In an earlier interview with Fortune India, Singh had said: “I have never been in a place where I haven’t given it more than my 100%. It comes from the kind of person I have evolved into.” And so, even in his brand endorsements, Singh dives right in, playing various parts even in the commercials he features in. Those tuning in to the Indian Premier League cricket match telecasts would also have seen multiple commercials featuring Singh with his father-in-law, tennis legend Prakash Padukone, for RuPay cards and with wife Deepika in the JioMart and Lloyd airconditioner commercials. From Tiffany & Co. and Adidas to Ducati India and MakeMyTrip, Singh has endorsed a range of brands. His effervescent style and his relatability across age groups and demographies, underscored even more after the mega success of the Dhurandhar franchise, is what makes him an all-weather favourite with brands, with his brand value pegged at a hefty ₹2,077 crore, according to the Fortune India-Interbrand study.

Says Jyoti Deshpande, who heads Jio Studios: “Ranveer is one of India’s most valuable brands. He is part of popular culture, and endorses the maximum number of brands at top rates. He is a style icon. People copy his hairstyle and his clothes.”

Adds producer Tanuj Garg, partner, Ellipsis Entertainment: “I’ve worked on Lootera (2013) with Ranveer. What’s incredible about him, apart from his unwavering commitment to the film he’s working on, is his high-voltage energy, emotional expressiveness and fearless individuality. That’s what keeps Brand RS buzzing.”

Singh, the study says, has transitioned from quirky lead to a “mass-action Alpha” with viral velocity.

The entrepreneur

Singh’s business smarts have been in ample evidence over the past few years, as he launched his own brand of protein snacks under the SuperYou brand, his own production company, titled Maa Kasam Films (in typical Ranveer Singh style!), picked equity in companies like SUGAR Cosmetics and co-founded premium and luxury spirits firm ABD Maestro, together with taking a share of the earnings in many of the movies he acts in.

Singh had told Fortune India earlier:“I guess every film I will do from here on will have some portion of equity.” Agreeing that he had become business-savvy over time, Singh had said: “I have developed a sense of business acumen. I understand that along with being a performer and an actor, somewhere along the way you have also become a star whose talent is being monetised.”

Nikunj Biyani, co-founder, SuperYou, recalls how the venture was set up. “I was acquainted with him (Ranveer) because we live in the same society. We play basketball together. I wanted to build in the food FMCG space and when I shared that with him, he got really excited,” Biyani says.

Explaining how the partnership came into being, he says: “So it wasn’t that I wanted to partner with any celebrity. The idea that we had was to build a brand that revolved around energy. There was a slide in the deck that I’d sent to him. It had a photo of him and it said ‘Ranveer Singh equals energy’. I think that’s what really excited him, as he got to leverage his brand around energy.”

Singh isn’t the kind who would merely lend his name to a brand for money. When endorsing Ching’s Secret noodles, he had insisted on tasting the noodles first before signing up with the brand. The same philosophy, of getting his hands dirty and being involved with the venture, played out at SuperYou as well.

“At that point of time, he was already investing in other businesses, but I’m not sure he was a co-founder. He was part of the creation journey from day one. He’s a co-founder. He’s been part of everything from the first product to the naming of the brand, to the colour, the design, everything. Even his family’s been involved in the tastings,” Biyani says.

That is quintessential Ranveer Singh. Someone who dives right into whatever he has committed to. Mr. 100%. And while Singh is currently locked in a dispute with actor-producer-director Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment for allegedly walking out of Don 3 weeks before the movie was to go on the floors, he still has brands queuing up for a piece of him. They know talent like Ranveer Singh is not easy to find.