The first time I met Rajkummar Rao was at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2011 with the biopic Shahid directed by Hansal Mehta. Rao, who hadn’t changed his name then, was dressed in light-blue shirt and brown trousers and a dark-coloured strapped watch, a fact he confirmed during this interview. He wore his shy smile and was seated with us journalists and went onstage when he was called. Rajkummar has travelled many stages from that day to reach success without compromising on his kinds of roles and his kind of cinema. He straddles both commercial as well as non-commercial cinema with great ease and conviction and is a force to reckon with.
– Manju Ramanan
You have played non-heroic parts – in Queen for instance? Does it take courage to break away?
I don’t believe in this clichéd term called ‘hero.’ It is outdated today. The only hero of the film is its script. We are all characters in the film working towards making that hero – the film, stand out. A film should touch people. In that way, I choose characters. I chose Vijay from Queen because it was an unusual story and I could relate to the character. I connected to him.
Your films in the last two years added so much of rich content to Indian cinema?
Yes, we had some fabulous scripts and I have been lucky to be part of the cinema that came out of them. Right from Trapped, to Newton, to Stree, Fanney Khan – each and every film was unusual because of the script and I am so glad that these are being appreciated for not just artistic value but are commercially successful too.
You have been part of three distinctly different biopics. How did you change yourself for them?
Shahid was the first biopic I did on lawyer and human rights lawyer Shahid Azmi who was assassinated in 2010. He was hugely respected and loved by people, a fact I got to know while the film was being made. In fact, his family considered me their son and watched the premiere show with me. Omerta is based on a British terrorist of Pakistani descent Aahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh and directed by Hansal Mehta who directed me in Shahid. I wanted to surprise myself with Omerta. I then shot Bose: Dead/Alive that is a biopic on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. We have tried to go beyond the profile of Bose that people know.
Do you believe that film-characters from small towns have bigger appeal across masses today?
The majority of India lives in small towns and the characters in films that base themselves on small towners have more appeal and identification. They are relatable and so they are popular.
Do you feel that the age of realistic cinema has arrived and larger than life films will soon fade away?
All kinds of cinema coexist. There is a huge audience for cinema that will always be larger than life and there will be realistic but entertaining cinema as well. Audiences have accepted both well. If my first film LSD was well accepted, so was Kaipo Chhe, Newton and Bareilly ki Barfi. While I respect great content, I also respect box office success. I am glad to be part of both.
What did your struggle teach you?
My biggest challenge when I came was that I knew no one from the industry. After FTII, I went through the usual routine of sustaining myself in Mumbai – taking the local buses and riding my bike. Financially I come from a humble background but I never had a plan b. I wanted to make it as an actor and had that single-minded focus. I am a hustler and though the journey was tough, it was worth it.
How do you insulate yourself from the outside world as an artiste?
You know your truth more than anyone else. I thankfully don’t get trolled. I try and portray who I am. I don’t let anything disturb me.
Box
I have worked with one of the finest actors in this country – Manoj Bajpai. When I was shooting with hi for Aligarh he used to often joke that actors my generation are having it easy with content driven cinema. When he started out, it was very tough. But it is people like him who started making that change that we see manifest today. I have great respect and admiration for him. Some of my favourite Manoj Bajpai films are Shool, Satya, Bandit Queen, Aligarh and Gangs of Wasseypur.
Quick Questions.
Favourite food: I enjoy home-made Indian food.
First Filmfare award memory: Watched the awards a child but was nominated for LSD and saw the magic of the awards. Later won three Filmfare awards and one National award.
Love is: Something that keeps me grounded. It is a beautiful emotion when it is real love.
Unwind with: I watch a lot of things on my I Pad apart from films. News channels majorly.
My favourite Rajkummar Rao films
Shahid
Based on the true story of Shahid Azmi, Rao plays a determined, idealistic young lawyer who, at one time joins a terrorist outfit only to be jailed. He returns to education and awareness to fight cases of wrongfully convicted muslims, only to be assassinated for his good work.
Stree
Rao plays a tailor called Vicky who is deeply in love and mesmerized by a mysterious woman played by Shraddha Kapoor who happens to be a spirit who kidnaps men. He charms us with his innocence and naiveté as he refuses to see how strange are her demands.
Bareilly ki Barfi
Rao plays two sides to the same man Pritam Vidrohi in this comedy sharing screen space with Ayushamann Khurrana and Kriti Sanon. His transformation from being the shy, docile saree shop salesman to the dandy, swash-buckling hero is commendable!
Newton
Rao plays Nutan Kumar of Newton who is an idealistic, rookie government clerk sent for election duty to a Naxal controlled town where elections have never happened. His bewilderment at the situation he faces is extremely humorous though serious.
Trapped
A situation that can happen to anybody in an isolated building, ‘Trapped’ has Rao in the role of a call center employee who accidentally locks himself in a flat in a new high rise that has no neighbours. He survives without food, electricity and water while trying to escape.
Aligarh
Based on a true story of Ramchandra Siras,a professor from the Aligarh Muslim University, who was suspended under grounds of morality, the film’s main protagonist is Manoj Bajpai. Rao plays the sympathetic journalist Deepu Sebastian who helps him in the court case and stuns in his role.
Kaipo Che
Rao plays Govind in the story of three friends based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel, “The Three Mistakes of my Life,’ set against the background of the Gujarat riots. He shares screen space with Sushant Singh Rajput and Amit Sadh.
Queen
In this essentially woman centric film with Kangana Ranaut in the lead, Rao plays her jilted lover and gives a memorable performance. His flawed role makes him the highlight of the film despite Kangana’s stellar act.
