In the post-interval airport fight in Ra.One (2011), G.One is stopped mid-brawl with a simple instruction: “No touching.” The superhero freezes a kick just short of a long-haired ruffian, and the gag lands because of a small physical detail—the force alone sends the man’s hair flying, as though a fan were built into G.One’s shoe.
That ruffian was Charanpreet Siingh. On the film’s fifteenth anniversary, he recalled how a wordless, close-up part became a career landmark.
From a photograph to a 15-day schedule
Siingh had recently arrived in Mumbai from Dehradun and had worked in the Malayalam film The Train (2011). A friend connected him to an assistant director on Ra.One who was looking for an actor with long hair. His photographs were sent, he was selected, and he flew to Hyderabad for a 15-day shoot.
His scene had no dialogue. Before the camera rolled, Shah Rukh Khan took him aside, put a hand on his shoulder and explained how to approach it. Siingh remembers being told to visualise the shot: to enter the scene as if he genuinely meant to attack G.One, so the anger would show on his face without a single line.
The star who remembered a name
On the final day, Siingh asked for a photograph. Shah Rukh Khan’s reply became the moment he keeps returning to:
“Haan, haan, Charan. Aa ja.”
For an actor who had introduced himself days earlier and was playing a minor goon, being called by name mattered. “I had a small role, yet he remembered my name,” Siingh said. The recognition did not stop on set.
Where the close-up led
Because the shot framed his face clearly, the small role became visible. After the release, director Tigmanshu Dhulia called him and asked, “Tu Ra.One mein hai kya?” That call was followed by more work:
- Acting roles in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013), Zanjeer (2013) and Ugly (2014)
- Punjabi dialect coaching on Sarbjit, A Flying Jatt and Mubarakan
- Directorial turns in Unfinished Story (2022) and Draped In Silence (2025)
His latest film is now on the festival circuit, having premiered at the International Film Festival Delhi and with a stop next at the Waves Film Bazaar during IFFI 2026 in Goa.
For audiences who remember Ra.One mainly for its visual effects and its superhero ambitions, Siingh’s account is a useful corrective: a heavily post-produced blockbuster was still built from small, human scenes. A close-up that could have been a throwaway gag ended up carrying one actor from Dehradun into a longer film career.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
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