‘There should be life beyond films’
Rakul Preet Singh talks about the joy of prepping for her roles, her keenness in doing a sports biopic, life beyond films and the beauty of being an actress
I had to work extensively on my looks and body language, study how shepherd women carry themselves and of course, mind the sheep. I learnt to make the peculiar bleating sound that catches the attention of the sheep, and use a stick to bring the flock under control.
— RAKUL PREET SINGH
Looks like Rakul Preet Singh has got the hang of shooting in the new normal. With five films in her kitty in Hindi and Telugu, the actress is going from strength to strength.
She will be seen as a tribal shepherd girl in her next film, Konda Polam, directed by Krish. Although she has played a village belle earlier, Rakul says that her role as Obulamma is the most authentic she has done so far.
Saying that a lot of prepping was required for the part, Rakul shares that she had to undergo a makeover to portray the shepherd girl. “I had to work extensively on my looks and body language, study how shepherd women carry themselves and of course, mind the sheep,” she smiles. “I learnt to make the peculiar bleating sound that catches the attention of the sheep, and use a stick to bring the flock under control. Just imagine, there were days when I was shooting with more than 1,000 sheep on the sets,” she reveals, adding that controlling the sheep while shooting was tough and took a lot of patience. She also had to get used to the forest which is home to the tribal women.
The transformation was a step-bystep process, she says. First, she had to get the right tanned look. She also studied the body language of the shepherd women, and how they dress (lehengas and half sarees) and cook to make herself look authentic.
Obulamma is a charismatic, brave, and loveable character and the role is very close to her heart, Rakul reveals. “She’s emotional and compassionate, yet strong.
I had a lot of fun playing the role, it was like discovering a new side of myself every day on the set,” the De De Pyar De star says.
Rakul has played a variety of roles over the years, and feels that a pluspoint of her profession is that actors get to be a number of different people without actually taking up any of those jobs. “I can be a pilot, a sprinter, a tribal woman. You get an idea about every profession you play and that’s the most exciting part of the
job,” she beams.