EXCLUSIVE! Rajkummar Rao: Stardom is accidental, I'd rather be a good actor
| Aug 11, 2017, 10:37 IST
Rajkummar Rao is one of the finest actors the Indian film fraternity has ever seen. After making a successful Bollywood debut with Dibakar Banerjee's 'Love Sex aur Dhokha' in 2010, the actor went on to deliver some brilliant performances with films like 'Kai Po Che', 'Queen' and 'City Lights'. His excellent portrayal of lawyer and human rights activist, Shahid Azmi, in the 2013 biopic 'Shahid', won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and cemented his place in the industry as one of the most promising talents from the current lot of actors.
Talking about how not stardom but getting better at his craft is his focus, the actor says, “Stardom is accidental. It can change with films. One big film can make you a star overnight but no one would remember you after three bad releases. So I don't want to chase stardom, I want to be a good actor. That stays for a long run. Stardom can change with films. I want to earn the tag of being an actor who is respected for his craft. I'd rather focus on being a good actor." He sportingly added, "I wish I knew that after people love your work and your films do well, you have to do PR exercises, attend parties etc. I just hired a PR agency and now I have a manager (laughs). Otherwise, as a person I am still the same."
Speaking of his favourite actors, he said, "I really like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee, Irrfan Khan, Aamir Khan and even youngsters like Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor are doing such an amazing job."
Talking about how not stardom but getting better at his craft is his focus, the actor says, “Stardom is accidental. It can change with films. One big film can make you a star overnight but no one would remember you after three bad releases. So I don't want to chase stardom, I want to be a good actor. That stays for a long run. Stardom can change with films. I want to earn the tag of being an actor who is respected for his craft. I'd rather focus on being a good actor." He sportingly added, "I wish I knew that after people love your work and your films do well, you have to do PR exercises, attend parties etc. I just hired a PR agency and now I have a manager (laughs). Otherwise, as a person I am still the same."
Speaking of his favourite actors, he said, "I really like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee, Irrfan Khan, Aamir Khan and even youngsters like Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor are doing such an amazing job."