Working with big names important for Rakul Preet

Actor Rakul Preet Singh’s second Bollywood film, Aiyaary, is releasing four years after she starred in Yaariyan in 2014. And that long gap is because she did not wish to leave her “core market down south” for a “non-worthy” project in Hindi cinema.

Delhi girl Rakul, who was busy doing Telugu and Tamil films such as Kick 2, Nannaku Prematho, Sarrainodu, Dhruva, Jaya Janaki Nayaka and Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, shares, “By the time Yaariyan released, I had done three films down south. I’ve always believed that it’s better to be a someone somewhere than to be a no one anywhere else. I realised that I’ll again have to leave work [in regional cinema], go to Mumbai and find work [in Bollywood].

“I was lucky to work with some of the biggest stars in the southern industry [including Mahesh Babu and Ravi Teja] and do good films. I realised that if I take time off from my core market, then it better be worth it. I should not be at loss at any point.”

Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee, seemed like a good project to return with. “I was sure that it’s a great project; an institution in itself!” says Rakul, who confesses that working with big names is important for her.

“I’d be lying if I say that only the script matters. It’s a matter of permutation and combination. It’s important that one’s market should expand,” she adds.

It’s better to be a someone somewhere than to be a no one anywhere else RAKUL PREET SINGH, ACTOR