{"id":17756,"date":"2017-09-08T19:15:29","date_gmt":"2017-09-09T02:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=17756"},"modified":"2017-09-08T19:15:29","modified_gmt":"2017-09-09T02:15:29","slug":"acting-not-an-ego-game-for-me-rajkummar-rao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/acting-not-an-ego-game-for-me-rajkummar-rao\/","title":{"rendered":"Acting Not an Ego Game for Me: Rajkummar Rao"},"content":{"rendered":"

File photo of Rajkumar Rao, (l), and Radhika Apte at the screening of \u201cPhobia\u201d in Mumbai, May 2016. (Press Trust of India)<\/em><\/p>\n

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In the last six months, Rajkummar Rao has lost weight, gained some and chopped off his hair to appear half-bald, all in the service of his craft, writes Bedika.<\/b><\/p>\n

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The actor, who recently turned 33, however, says the physical transformation is just one aspect and there is nothing special about it.<\/p>\n

In an interview with PTI, Rao says, \u201cIt has never been about me; acting is not an ego game. It is always about the character and the film. I can\u2019t be thinking about how I look, who my co-stars are or whether they have a better role than me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has been a great year for Rao, who wowed in films such as \u201cTrapped,\u201d \u201cBehen Hogi Teri\u201d and \u201cBareilly Ki Barfi.\u201d His role in \u201cBareilly\u201d impressed Amitabh Bachchan so much that he sent a handwritten congratulatory note and a bouquet of flowers to the actor.<\/p>\n

Rao says as someone who fell in love with acting, he will never do anything that requires calculation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have done anything in life. It is something that I am doing for myself. So, if I am in this profession, I have to be completely honest to it. My responsibilities are always towards my characters, not towards me or what others think about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His next release is \u201cNewton\u201d where Rao plays an election officer trying to get voting done in a Naxal-affected area.<\/p>\n

Then the actor has again collaborated with Hansal Mehta for \u201cOmerta,\u201d which recounts the real-life story of the infamous British-born terrorist, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered Wall Street Journal<\/i> reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002.<\/p>\n

Mehta and Rao have also ventured out into the digital space with the 10-part web series \u201cBose,\u201d where Rao will be seen playing Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.<\/p>\n

Mehta first worked with Rao in \u201cShahid,\u201d which was based on the life of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi, and won Rao a national award. Mehta went on to repeat the actor in \u201cCity Lights\u201d and \u201cAligarh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very lucky to have found Hansal sir in my life.<\/p>\n

You need somebody who always pushes you as an actor. He always offers me something which I have not done before or which I have not imagined myself doing,\u201d Rao says, elaborating on his special bond with Mehta.<\/p>\n

The actor says for \u201cOmerta,\u201d he went into a really dark space but it was exciting to play such a negative role with the same filmmaker who directed him in \u201cShahid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an unconventional film for both of us. It\u2019s in stark contrast to what \u2018Shahid\u2019 was. Because I have done \u2018Shahid,\u2019 it was great as an actor to do an absolutely different character with the same director.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBose\u201d is a dream role for Rao and he went all out for it because, he says, not many get the chance to play the founder of the Azad Hind Fauj.<\/p>\n

The actor says his hairstylist was aghast when he told him to shave off the top of his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor \u2018Bose,\u2019 I had to physically try and resemble him as much as possible. I can\u2019t exactly look like him but if I can make it believable, then my job is done. We had an option to use prosthetics but that would have restrained me as an actor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to keep things as natural as possible. This is why I have gone half-bald. It really helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rao\u2019s filmography has more films that come from the content-driven space than from mainstream commercial area but that does not worry the actor much.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily for me, I have not been typecast as of yet. I\u2019m not carrying a certain image. This is why when \u2018Behen Hogi Teri\u2019 and \u2018Bareilly\u2019 came my way, I took them up. I thought it would break the convention of the romantic hero. There is a certain body and style attached to them. I wanted to break that and make this romantic hero real, one of our own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rao reveals that the monolog in \u2018Behen Hogi Teri\u2019 was improvised and he actually downed a bottle though in real life he is a teetotaler.<\/p>\n

The actor says though his roles in both the recently released films were praised, he is in no hurry to jump into a commercial film just because people expect him to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been getting commercial film scripts since forever. Every week, I get one or two \u2018hero-wali\u2019<\/i> script. But if my heart is not there and the story doesn\u2019t make sense to me, I won\u2019t do it. The conventional roles have been done to death and there is no point in following the herd. I will rather do a \u2018Trapped\u2019 or \u2018Newton,\u2019 where I\u2019m more satisfied as an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

File photo of Rajkumar Rao, (l), and Radhika Apte at the screening of \u201cPhobia\u201d in Mumbai, May 2016. (Press Trust of India) In the last six months, Rajkummar Rao has lost weight, gained some and chopped off his hair to appear half-bald, all in the service of his craft, writes Bedika. The actor, who recently…<\/p>\n

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