PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES!

Actor Rajkummar Rao feels it’s “very encouraging and satisfactory” that all actors are “trying to bring in a change”

Right from the start, he has been making extremely diverse choices, and Rajkummar Rao strongly feels that it’s the need of the hour. In fact, he finds it heartening that other actors — seniors as well as his contemporaries — are also experimenting. “It thrills me when I see Varun [Dhawan] doing an October or Ranveer [Singh] playing [Alauddin] Khilji or Ranbir [Kapoor] starring in the Dutt biopic. In a way, it’s very encouraging and satisfactory that we — the new breed of actors — are all trying to bring in a change and pushing the boundaries together,” he says.

The Newton (2017) actor feels that not just his contemporaries, but “seniors are pushing the boundaries too.” He says, “Look at Shah Rukh sir play a dwarf in Zero or Aamir sir portray a 50-yearold father to three daughters in Dangal. Even Salman sir has done films such as Tubelight and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. And Amitji [Amitabh Bachchan] challenges himself with every third film and appears as a new and different guy. Akshay Kumar too has been doing it for a long time, so all of us are into it together. That’s why I feel Indian cinema is surely going through a lovely change.”

Talking of his craft, what makes Rajkummar stand out from the rest is sheer honesty in his performances. Is it challenging? “Honestly, it’s not difficult. I can talk for myself, as it has never been difficult. Also, the kind of people I work with are always very honest in what they do. So that honesty is something that translates into films that we work on together. I have never met someone, who is a corrupt film-maker and plays gimmicks,” he says.

Rajkummar feels since the

The kind of people I work with are always very honest in what they do. So that honesty is something that translates into films that we work on together. RAJKUMMAR RAO, ACTOR

time he worked with Dibakar Banerjee in Love Sex Aur Dhokha [2010; his debut film], people “have been very honest in whatever they are doing.” “I also believe in that honesty. It especially holds true for actors as we are dealing with emotions. It’s such a sensitive job that you can’t put corruption in that,” he says.