'Padmavati' is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, says Ranveer Singh

From enacting a street smart college guy to a Peshwa warrior, actor Ranveer Singh has played diverse characters in his career but he considers the role in forthcoming film "Padmavati" as his toughest so far.

The period drama, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will feature Ranveer as Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler, who fell in love with queen Padmavati. The film also features Shahid Kapoor as Raja Ratan Singh, the Rajput ruler and husband of Padmavati (enacted by Deepika Padukone).

Ranveer, whose latest film "Befikre" just released, says it is extremely difficult to fit into the shoes of his role in "Padmavati".

"It's very difficult. It's physically, emotionally, mentally very draining. It's my biggest challenge yet as an actor. I prepared very hard for it, almost a month. We have started shooting and Bhansali is pretty happy with the way things have shaped up," Ranveer told PTI in an interview.

The 31-year-old actor hopes to do justice to the role, which he considers as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."I am excited to get back into it after the Christmas break. It's something I am still grappling with, still exploring, still discovering the character," he said."I am at a very nascent stage of discovering this layered character. It's a part of a lifetime and I hope I can do justice to it," Ranveer said.

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For his last year's hit "Bajirao Mastani", the actor went though a gruelling preparation which involved locking himself up in a hotel room.

"This time (for 'Padmavati') I didn't have a hotel room but had the whole apartment to myself. I actually had more time for this character than I had for Bajirao. For Bajirao, I had around 18 days, this time I had around 21," Ranveer said.

The film is set to release on November 17 next year.