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Bollywood star Ranveer Singh showcased his rapping skills as he attended the world premiere for his new film "Gully Boy" at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday (February 9) evening.

"Gully Boy", directed by India's Zoya Akhtar, tells the fictional tale of Murad (Singh), a student who lives in a slum and ends up temporarily substituting for his injured father as chauffeur for a wealthy family.

He discovers a talent for rapping and uses it to vent his anger about poverty and the chasm between rich and poor, writing lines about babies cowering next to skyscrapers and wealthy people's cars being big as poor people's homes.

Singh said he grew up listening to rap music and it "feels amazing" to have recorded five songs for the film's soundtrack.

The coming-of-age film depicts a young man who refuses to accept what his father has taught him - that he cannot afford big dreams and should get a stable office job - and who defies class conventions by secretly dating Safeena (Alia Bhatt), a doctor's daughter.

Safeena is confident and violently attacks potential love rivals while Murad is a more sensitive and reserved character.

With her film Akhtar said she wanted to show strong women and softer men on screen.

The film, she said, was about the urban youth in Mumbai who are "gonig to change things".

The movie features slum dwellers picking through rubbish, abandoned children preparing drugs to earn their keep and homes made from corrugated iron alongside wealthy Indians attending posh parties, modern skyscrapers and a group of camera-wielding British tourists visiting a slum.

It is one of around 400 films screening at this year's Berlinale festival, which runs until Feb.

17.