When Ranveer Singh broke down on meeting childhood hero footballer Thierry Henry: ‘It changed how I look at fans’

Ranveer Singh is in the United Kingdom currently and not as an actor but as a football fan. For a change, the actor isn’t shooting in the country but simply, enjoying some quality football. Ranveer has been watching a number of English Premier League football games on his UK trip, and also mingling with the likes of Bella Hadid at the stadia. In an exclusive chat from London, the actor speaks to Hindustan Times about his visit, his love for football, and when a meeting with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry moved him to tears. (Also read: Ranveer Singh poses with Bella Hadid in London, fans call it a strange crossover)

Ranveer’s favourite club is Arsenal. He has supported the club since he was a kid. But his first visit was to the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, home of Arsenal’s rivals. “I am speaking to you from the heart of enemy territory. I am an Arsenal fan. It’s jaw-dropping to be here,” he says with a laugh.

In fact, he says that it was his love for Premier League football that enabled him to understand the passion that fans have. This happened when he first met his childhood hero, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Ranveer tells us, “That was one significant incident in my life. It changed the way I look at fan and celebrity dynamic.”

The French footballer is considered one of the greatest players of all time and played for Arsenal from 1999-2007. Ranveer and Thierry met in Mumbai in 2016 when the sports star was in India for a brand commitment. “He was in Mumbai for a brand that is a competitor to a brand I am attached to,” says Ranveer, adding, “There was a big question mark as to whether I’d be able to meet him. I spoke to everyone I had to and said, ‘Guys everything aside, this guy is my childhood hero. You’ve got to let me meet him’. And they were ever so gracious. On the way to meet him, I was very excited. But the minute he came in front of me, I broke out in tears. I couldn’t control my emotions as I saw him in the flesh. Tears were coming down. I just started crying. I have sat in front of the TV watching Thierry Henry. I have cheered him with my core and screaming when he scored. In that moment, all of that came back. All those years of admiration!”

Ranveer said Thierry’s reaction to his emotional state changed how he has dealt with his own fans ever since. He elaborates, “He was so patient, kind, and warm with me and with all my friends that I had taken along with me to meet him. That just changed me forever. Prior to that, whenever I saw people moving to tears on meeting me, or when someone tattooed your face or name on their body, I used to find it overwhelming. I was curious that isn’t all this a bit much. But when that happened to me, I understood that. I had a new-found way of looking at it. It was a new respect that I found for that dynamic. In that moment, I learnt a lesson for life. I engage those fans very differently now. I am so much more respectful and sensitive to what they’re feeling in that moment because it happened to me. Because how kind and warm he was to me, it meant the world to me. He made me feel so special that I want to pay that kindness and goodness forward.”

Ranveer will be soon seen on screen in his upcoming film Jayeshbhai Jordaar. The Divyang Thakkar directorial also stars newcomer Shalini Pandey and releases on May 13. He has two other films in the pipeline- Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus, and Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.