‘Nobody is irreplaceable’

Every time Rajkummar Rao decides he will do only two films a year, the “greedy” actor inside him says he cannot let go of a good script, as everyone is replaceable in the industry. Last year, Rajkummar had as many as six releases with films such as Trapped, Bareilly Ki Barfi and Newton! 

The actor began 2018 with Omerta, followed by Fanney Khan and is geared up for his third release, “Stree”, a horror comedy directed by Amar Kaushik. Rajkummar says he finds it impossible to refuse a good film and hence ends up doing it. 

“Whenever I think I’m going to do two films a year, I get another wonderful story, like Stree, and I’m like wow! Everybody is replaceable, nobody is irreplaceable here. If I’m going to say no to it because I want to do two films a year and sit at home, someone else will,” he says. 

“I am a greedy actor; I want all the scripts to come to me. So I do all the good films, which come my way, even if it means I’ll rest a little less. Every time I think I’m going to take it slow, a good script comes along,” he adds. 

Saying no

It is not that the 33-year-old actor has not turned down a project, but whenever he has done that, he has been honest about it. “I’ve said no to some important people and they were kind and sweet to understand where I was coming from. Somehow I couldn’t see myself in those scripts. It’s important to say ‘no’ and say it rightly. My mantra is to be honest about it. They’ve been here for so long, you can’t try to be smart with them,” he says. 

For the actor, who made his debut in 2010 with Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhoka, almost everything fell into place last year where he got a chance to perform in films of genres ranging from comedy to romance to drama to thriller. Rajkummar says, over the years, he has learnt that he cannot land films by “networking” or attending parties. “There’s no formula for success. No formula that you go to filmy parties and you might get work, or do some networking. All that doesn’t matter anymore; it’s your work which speaks. I still believe that. My work has to speak.” — PTI