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Ranbir has been burning the midnight oil dubbing for his three roles in Bachna Ae Haseenon. “It’s not quite three roles. But equal to three roles.

Ranbir has to play age 16, age 24 and finally 30. While the middle part is close to the way he is in body language and speech, playing age 16 and 30 is not

easy, not for Ranbir who I’ve discovered is a bit of a perfectionist,” says director Siddharth Anand.

Years ago when Kamal Hassan had to get an anguished shout out, he placed his face in a plastic bag and screamed into it. His vocal chords were permanently

damaged.
Ranbir isn’t doing anything so damaging. “But intense preparation is his domain,” reveals Siddharth. “You’ve to see how Ranbir looks in the three phases of

his roles. He has different clothes, hair and styling in every phase. But most important is the way he has used the voice. He has brought different nuances

and different speech patterns for each phase in his character’s life. For age 16, he speaks faster and in a shrill tone. When you’re younger, you’re more

enthusiastic and eager to be heard. Ranbir looks and sounds as exuberant and restless as a 16-year old. And at 30, though there’s no discernible difference

in a person’s voice quality, you’ve to hear the differences Ranbir has brought into his voice.”

In fact, Ranbir welcomed a bout of flu last week so he could dub a heavy dramatic sequence in a gravelly voice. Laughs his pal Siddharth, “That’s the kind of

actor he is. I’ve never seen such a hunger for perfection in any actor that age.”

Apparently, Ranbir’s quest for credibility was contagious. “Bipasha who’s professionally senior to Ranbir looks so well matched with Ranbir. All those who

think the two would be mismatched better be ready for a shock. Ranbir can look compatible with any co-star,” says his loyal director.

Is he nervous? “I’m not afraid of expectations just because some Yash Raj films haven’t done well. Why should I be? I was more apprehensive when my Salaam

Namaste came in the year when Yash Raj had three hits Hum Tum, Veer-Zaara and Dhoom.”

The story for Bachna Ae Haseeno is written by Aditya Chopra. “The minute Adi told me the story; I took it from him and never returned it. While many

interludes in Salaam Namaste were borrowed from Hollywood films not one single shot in Bachna… is taken from anywhere. It’s completely original.”