Rajkummar Rao on his Bollywood journey: ‘Never thought of giving up and doing something else’

Looking again at his decade-long profession, Shahid and Stree star Rajkummar Rao says his journey in Bollywood has been surreal and rewarding however not with out its share of challenges. The actor mentioned his late mom’s religion in him saved him going even on days when he had nothing when he moved to Mumbai from Gurgaon to chase his childhood dream.
Rao began his profession with Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhokha 10 years in the past and shortly earned approval for his performances in movies like Kai Po Che!, Aligarh and Newton.
In an interview with PTI, the National award-winning actor spoke about finishing a profitable decade within the movie trade. “The initial two years when I was looking for work, it was extremely tough. There were days when there was no money to buy food. But my mother gave me that confidence and she had this unshakable trust in me. I would call back home and they would send me money so that I could have food on my table,” the actor instructed PTI.
Rajkummar Rao and Kainaz Motivala in Ragini MMS.
Rao, 36, a Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) graduate, mentioned it was solely after Banerjee’s found-footage drama in 2010 that issues began transferring ahead for him. But even when he was struggling, the considered placing his appearing ambitions on maintain didn’t cross Rao’s thoughts.
“I never thought of giving up, of going back and doing something else. I never came with a plan-B. This is what I wanted to do ever since I was a kid. Things started moving post ‘LSD’ and since then the journey has been good. When I look back, it feels surreal. I never expected this to happen, to do all these wonderful films and roles. I didn’t come to this city chasing fame or money. I am in films because I really love it,” he added.

It isn’t that when his success streak began, there have been no setbacks. After consecutive hits, from 2017 comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi, National Award-winning black comedy-drama Newton to the 2018 horror comedy Stree, Rao noticed a failure along with his huge 2019 Diwali launch Made in China.
Rao mentioned regardless of the movie’s failure, he’s pleased with the venture as he appears to be like at failures solely as momentary. “I am proud of the film. There are those films as well which I think I could’ve avoided, but that’s alright. What I’ve realised is you can’t be low. The key is to get up and move on to the next one.”
Up subsequent, Rao will probably be seen in director Harshvardhan Kulkarni’s Badhaai Do, co-starring Bhumi Pednekar. Backed by Junglee Pictures, the movie is a sequel to the 2018 National Award-winning hit Badhaai Ho!. The actor, who performs a cop within the movie, mentioned the film shouldn’t be “exactly a sequel.”

Badhaai Do continues the spirit of the primary movie which chronicled the story of a middle-aged couple going through an surprising being pregnant and goals to ship a well timed message in an attractive method.

“It’s a different world with new characters but our producers are the same. I’m extremely happy with the way it has shaped up. Harshwardhan is a director to look out for. Bhumi and I had such a gala time making the film with him. The audience will see me in a new light with this one. What we are trying to say with the film is important but we are saying it in an entertaining manner. It’s the kind of film you’d laugh while watching but also take back home something from it,” he added.