Happy Birthday Ranveer Singh: Rare Pictures, Lesser Known Facts About 'Bajirao Mastani' Actor

Actor Ranveer Singh turns 30 on 6 July. He has made a mark in Bollywood with his brilliant performances in films like "Band Baaja Baaraat", "Ram Leela" and the most recent one "Dil Dhadakne Do".

Ranveer will be seen next in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Bajirao Mastani" alongside Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.

The actor, who surprises people with his colorful dressing sense, is one of the most loved celebrities in the hindi film industry.

On his birthday, let us take a look at some lesser known facts about the handsome hunk.

• Ranveer's full name is 'Ranveer Singh Bhavnani'. He dropped his surname 'Bhavnani' as he thought it would not be 'saleable' in the industry.

• He is the cousin of Sonam Kapoor, as his mother happens to be the sister of Sonam's mom.

• Ranveer got offers to appear in commercials before "Band Baja Baaraat". But the actor turned them down as he wanted to be a fresh face in the industry.

• He once dated Ahana Deol, the daughter of Hema Malini and Dharmendra.

• He had to struggle for three years before Aditya Chopra roped him in for "BBB" and his selection brought tears of joy. The soft-hearted actor went to a corridor and started crying.

• Amitabh Bachchan sent a handwritten note after watching Ranveer's brilliant work in "Ram Leela".

• Ranveer worked as a copywriter in advertising agencies O&M and J Walter Thompson before realising his dream of making it big in Bollywood.

Recently, Ranveer's film "Lootera" completed two years in which he featured opposite Sonakshi Sinha. The actor tweeted about it on his micro-blogging site: "Lootera...A little gem...Heartened to see its value appreciating as time passes... #2YearsOfLootera."

2 Years of LOOTERA ..... A love story that stole my heart pic.twitter.com/abmvizR3UP

— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) July 4, 2015