RajKummar Rao will soon be seen alongside Sanya Malhotra in director Dr. Sailesh Kolanu’s HIT — The First Case. It is the Hindi remake of his 2020 Telugu film of the same name and will release on July 15. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:
How do you look at your journey from Love Sex Aur Dhokha to working with Dharma Productions’ Mr. & Mrs. Mahi?
As an actor, you want to work with everybody, big studios and big makers. My career is all about working with new directors. Most of them were debuting with me as directors. For me, it’s the story and content that matter the most. If you have a great story you wish to tell, and if somebody supports it, they can reach out to more people.
Can we compare your character in HIT — The First Case to Amitabh Bachchan’s angry young man roles?
(Laughs) No, I don’t know. Of course, Amitji had played the angry young man. My character in the film Vikram Jai Singh bhi ek angry young man hi hai. He is carrying a huge personal baggage. He does his work honestly and with utmost dedication, but he gets disturbed. When he works on a case, he never gets satisfied until and unless he solves that case. One after the other, all the cases handled by him are getting complicated, so it will thrill the audience and will keep everyone on the edge of their seat.
South fans hero worship Vishwak Sen. Do you think there will be a lot of comparisons between you both?
I don’t know, but we will have to wait and watch. I feel it’s very natural for people to compare when two actors perform similar roles. Comparisons will be natural, but they won’t affect me because I won’t read them.
Are you part of any other film by Dr. Sailesh?
Sailesh garu’s next is releasing in the South only. I am a part of his next Hindi film, which is a sequel to the next part of HIT. Our film will be absolutely a different story.
Tell us about your upcoming projects.
I am doing director Anubhav Sinha’s film Bheed, which is almost completed. It’s a very good film. It stars me and Bhumi Pednekar and Pankaj Kapur. My character is different. It’s a social drama and is a very engaging story. It’s too early for me to reveal anything much about Bheed. Then I have Monica, O My Darling.
You are cast in Anubhav’s film for the first time. How did you get into his camp?
Yes, this is our first venture together. I don’t know unse puchiye ki mujhe kyun liya iss film mein. He is one of the finest filmmakers we have. It was a great experience working with him. He is an amazing human being aur mere toh bahut acche dost hai. I have a lot of fun spending time with him even if we are not working.
Do you enjoy being on social media? Are you very into it?
I am there only on Instagram. Twitter, I am not very active. I have a team, but I mostly do it myself. I am not there on Facebook. Undeniably, you may say I am there, but it’s not like my life depends on it.
