‘I HAVE GOT NO INSECURITIES’
Actor Rajkummar Rao says he has a ‘lot of gratitude for everyone’ but he is ‘still the same Gurugram guy’ that he always was
He made his big screen debut with Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD; 2010), and ever since, Rajkummar Rao has been — slowly but steadily — making his way towards success and stardom. 2017, in fact, turned out to be a breakthrough year for the Gurugram boy with movies such as Trapped (2017), the National Award-winning Newton (2017) and Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB; 2017), all of which got him lots of appreciation from critics and audiences alike. He also bagged the Best Actor trophy at Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Newton. We caught up with him about life, career and more.
Many feel 2017 was a landmark year for you and it could be a turning point in your career…
In a way, it was, because people suddenly took notice of me, and that too in very different avatars. Look at BKB; nobody had ever seen me play a part like Pritam Vidrohi in such a light-hearted, commercial entertainer. Somewhere, it gave me a lot of recognition amongst the masses also due to what I did with my part. That really helped, and then the kind of box-office success and appreciation we got for Newton, Trapped and even Bose: Dead/Alive was amazing. I think those three-four projects really changed a lot of things for me. So, 2017 was a very exciting year when it comes to my career.
So, as they say, has Rajkummar Rao finally arrived?
Actually, I arrived [in the world] in 1984 when I was born (laughs). On a serious note, I have been continuously working since my first film, LSD (2010). And probably, there was a small group of people — amongst the filmloving audiences — that noticed my work. In the industry too, people liked me but at the end of day, it’s business. People will invest in you only if they see some kind of return and that’s the dark truth. Many feel that I have arrived now because there’s a belief that I can probably carry a film on my shoulders now.
You have to listen to your gut and follow your heart because I am here for a marathon, not a sprint. I want to keep running. I don’t ever want this journey to finish.
RAJKUMMAR RAO, ACTOR
Do you sometimes feel that you should have got the success and fame a lot earlier? You know, I had thoroughly enjoyed working in Ragini MMS, and it was a big success too. But for some reason, not many people saw it in the industry thinking it was a ‘sex film.’ I did that film with a lot of honesty. I was always present, but probably hidden. It’s as if there was an eclipse but now, that grahan has moved away and people are like, ‘wow, he is shining (laughs).’
But you always stuck to your guns. Yes, because I feel eventually, that’s what pays off. You have to listen to your gut and follow your heart because I am here for a marathon, not a sprint. I want to keep running. I don’t ever want this journey to finish. And for that to happen, you can’t put too much of your brain in doing things, and can’t connect too many dots because anyway, there is no guarantee of anything. Nobody knows what’s going to work on a Friday. The only thing that I know is that if I like a particular script, I want to be as honest to my character as possible. That’s the only thing I can control; nothing else.
Were you disappointed about not winning the National Award for Newton last year?
Awards only motivate me to work harder, so of course, it’s very encouraging when I win an award. As for the National Award, I’m sure there were other better performances than mine and that’s why I didn’t get it. But I can’t feel low especially with the kind of love I got in 2017. I just want to keep challenging myself with every film. If I get an award, it makes me happy but if I don’t, I promise that I will work even harder. Right now, a number of young actors are working actively in the industry. Do you feel a sense of competition or pressure due to your contemporaries?
To be honest, I feel very happy when I see my contemporaries attempt different work, as that’s very good for our cinema, and that’s also imperative for the kind of recognition we will eventually get on the international level. It’s very encouraging. I don’t feel insecure at all, as I have no insecurities, especially when it comes to my work and acting. I am an actor not because I wanted to prove a point but because I genuinely fell in love with cinema. There was never a plan B for me as this was the only thing I always knew all my life.