Ranveer v/s Wild Review with Bear Grylls is fun because Ranveer Singh does it, observes Deepa Gahlot.

The first Indian to appear on the Bear Grylls adventure show was Prime Minister Modi, who, given all the excitement the host was trying to drum up, looked rather jaded at having seen it all in his childhood.

The others following the pumped-up wildlife resort dangers were Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Vicky Kaushal, all action stars and fine actors who could get the requisite expression of thrill when Grylls wanted it.

The audience could see the A-listers doing their best Khatron Ke Khiladi-like plots in scenic locations.

Nobody really believed for a moment that real dangers lurked in the jungle or that the safety standards of an international production house were anything but impeccable.

So the show is all about viewers watching celebrities having fun and imagining that they have some control over what’s happening because they can use the on-screen interactive button to decide how to proceed.

There is also the undo button which would make the contestant choose the other option, two sequences for the price of one so to speak.

Ranveer Singh, known for his exuberance, wit and funky style, greets Grylls with kisses and calls him “imported Tarzan” and Mowgli, while the TV star described him as an “adventurer, survivalist and man without fear”.

Immediately the tone of the show is set.

The “actor, adrenaline junkie and hopeless romantic” will teach Grylls as much as he learns from him.

The star, who says he never went beyond the Aarey Forest in Goregaon, north-west Mumbai, will be flown by helicopter to stunning Serbian countryside, where the two will encounter bears, wolves, snakes and various dangers that are no doubt scripted and be controlled.

But when Ranveer gasps at how scared he is, he lets you believe it.

He admits, in a moment of touching honesty, that he needed this journey to get out of his comfort zone and change the direction of his life.

The declared intention is the search for a rare flower, Serbia Ramondawhich he wants to pick for his wife Deepika Padukone.

He praises her effusively as he walks up and down cliffs, across rivers, and into caves.

He eats ants, maggots and, if necessary, turns his underpants into a flaming torch.

Halfway through the trek, he is joined by a friend, Karan, and they have a good time. His always good mood is contagious.

Ranveer embraces every experience with the excitement of a child – his hair combed into a little fountain on top of his head – making him look endearingly youthful.

The show is fun because Ranveer makes it so.

As Grylls once said, “Travelling with you is never boring.”

Ranveer v/s Wild Review with Bear Grylls Streams on Netflix.

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