Rakul Preet Singh: Nobody will invest 100cr in you just because you’re easy

She was last seen in 'Aiyaary' – her second Bollywood outing – and is now shooting with Ajay Devgn for her next. Delhi girl Rakul Preet Singh, a south superstar, former Miss India contestant, and a Jesus and Mary College (JMC) alumna, met us at her Gurgaon residence recently and spoke to us about her college days in Delhi, how language has not been a barrier for her, and also about the power imbalance in the south film industry, just a few days before actress Sri Reddy’s protest against the casting couch. “Telugu (cinema) is something which is very close to my heart, because that’s the land that has given me an identity,” says Rakul. Excerpts:

While some Telugu actresses have openly spoken about the casting couch in the film industry, you have maintained that you haven’t experienced anything like that. But do you think just because you have not experienced it, it does not exist?
It (the debate) has been going on for a long time now, and I can talk only for myself. I can only talk about the experiences that I’ve had. People can play the blame-game, people can be doing anything, I am not vouching for anything. I am saying that so far, I have had a great experience and I believe that nobody is going to invest 100 crore on you or cast you in a film just because you are an easy girl. It might take time but it is the talent that lasts. That’s the message that I also want to give to younger girls out there, that don’t get disappointed or bogged down in life just because things are not happening. It might take time, but you need to believe in yourself. And I have spoken only about myself. Having said that, it is an opportunistic world, anybody is going to take advantage of you. Whether you give it or not is something that’s in your hands.

Rakul Preet at her Gurgaon society

Many actresses down south have also opened up about the power imbalance between the actors and actresses in the industry. Have you ever felt the same?
Well, hasn’t that been the case with the entire world? Why are we putting the industry under the scanner just because it makes news? Let’s accept the fact that it is a male-dominated world. The good point, however, is that people are acknowledging that and change has begun. People understand that a woman has a choice, and she can stand up for herself and can make different career choices. And I am glad that change is coming in now. Having said that, if we limit it to our film industry, things are changing there as well. Anushka Sharma and Vidya Balan are doing great films, and Deepika Padukone has proved everybody wrong by taking on some very risky films and experimenting at another level. Even in the south, there are Nayanthara and Samantha Akkineni who are doing great. So times are changing.


You have done Telugu movies and you are doing Bollywood simultaneously, is there any conscious effort to take certain genres of movies in each of the industries?
I don’t think that it is something that you can decide. There’s always a luck factor that comes in with the films that you are picking. In south, I am actually looking at doing a wide range of roles, and that is going to be on my mind always. Now whether it is Tamil, Hindi or Telugu, I just want to keep experimenting, and be a different person in every film, because which other profession gives you the opportunity to be another person anyway? You could be a scientist or a teacher, you could be whatever. In real life, we don’t do that. I just want to keep experimenting and I hope that I get those scripts to keep experimenting.


Since you have worked in both the industries, is there any difference that you find in between the two?
Not really. I feel that there are good people and there are bad people. There are people who know their job and there are people who don’t know their job – that’s the only difference. So, either you are working with a good team or you are not working with a good team. All the industries are similar. South is also making some really competent films now, and so is Bollywood. I don’t find any difference between the two industries except the language.

But is there any difference within the regional cinema?
Like I said, there is not much difference between Tamil and Telugu cinema either. Tamil and Telugu are making some amazing movies. Like 'Baahubali' is from Telugu, then you have Shankar sir’s (S Shankar) next movie with Akshay (Kumar) sir and Rajinikanth sir, so there are such huge big-budgeted films being made and they are all shot in the same way. The only difference would be between those people who know their job and those who don’t, and I have been lucky that I have always worked with those who know their work.


We remember that when we met you last, you told us that you haven’t seen much around, has anything changed since then?
It’s been a while, I don’t come back home very often. I did not even come home to stay here when I was promoting 'Aiyaary'. I think it has almost been a year when I came back. The thing with me is that when my parents moved to Gurgaon from Delhi, I moved to Mumbai within two months. So, I haven’t lived for too long in this house. I am not well-versed with Gurgaon. I obviously know it better than a Mumbaikar, but I don’t know the place as much as I know Delhi. When I was in JMC, we used to always bunk college and go to Khan Market, and do a lot of masti there. My school was also in Dhaula Kuan. So I know more about Delhi. In Gurgaon, I know Cyber Hub and a few restaurants, that’s about it. I miss the friends and family part of Delhi. I am sort of a people-over-place person. I think that when my parents come down to Hyderabad, then I am okay. But the only thing I miss is my friends and family that I have in Delhi.

— Riya.Sharma@timesgroup.com and Shrishti.Bhatia@timesgroup.com