‘Trapped is my most challenging film’

Shoma A. Chatterji

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Films like Shahid, Aligarh, Queen, Kai Po Che and Trapped have one thing in common — Rajkummar Rao. He does not have the drop-dead looks of a Siddharth Malhotra, the muscular body like Hrithik Roshan, the charisma of Aamir Khan or the hypnotic X-factor Shah Rukh Khan exudes. Yet, he bagged the National Award in 2014 for his performance in and as Shahid, based on the true story of controversial human rights lawyer Shahid Azmi, who was gunned down in cold blood in 2010.

You were wonderful mimic as a boy. Did this push you to become an actor?

I was hooked to Bollywood films. I saw Amitabh Bachchan in Agneepath, when I was six. At 11, Shah Rukh Khan’s performance in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge took my breath away. In school at Gurgaon, I would dance at school functions and won a gold medal at the national level in taekwondo. I trained in martial arts for 10 years. I decided to be an actor when my acting in a school play was a big draw. My parents have been very supportive.

You went to the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Did that help?

Yes. It was a great place for laying the foundation but the real struggle lay in Mumbai. I did not come from a film family. I had not grown up in Mumbai. I did not have the smashing looks or height or the body of a box-office hero, and these worked against me. I applied in response to an ad by filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee for a boy to work in Love Sex Aur Dhokha. The film became a hit. Then I did Ragini MMS and with Kai Po Che, I had arrived.

How did things change after you received the National Award?

I was in the middle of a shoot. I was just nine films old in four years. I was speechless. My cell did not stop ringing and Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages. I consider it more of Hansal Mehta’s victory than mine. He got the Best Director’s Award for the film. It was a great feeling. He is one of my magic directors.

How was the experience of working in Trapped?

After Citylights, Trapped has been the most challenging film in my career. Such a film is rare for an actor. I tried to live the character by living off just carrots and coffee for seven to 10 days till I was starving. I felt it would be difficult otherwise to imbibe the feeling of being trapped in a small flat without food, water, electricity and company. The audience response has been reasonably good. It is a universal film because it tells of an incident that can happen to anyone at any time, anywhere in the world. Credit goes to Vikram for shaping and honing the character the way he has.

What are your forthcoming ventures ?

I am doing two films and one web serial on digital by Ekta Kapoor on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in which I play this great leader. I am really scared of portraying him and have already begun reading up on him and researching everything I need to. It aims to showcase the untold story of Netaji’s life. I got a standing ovation for my performance in and as Newton, my yet-to-be-released film at the Berlinale this year. Newton is a very Indian film as the character is set in the heartland of India. Amit Masurkar has directed the film. It is about a rookie clerk on election duty in a conflict-ridden jungle of central India, who tries his best to conduct free and fair voting. The film talks about democracy and voting rights in a satirical tone.

What is your role in Hansal Mehta’s Omerta?

Omerta tracks the life of the Britain-born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, known for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and his links to various Islamist organisations. Omar came from a privileged background before being radicalised. It’s a complete contrast to what I did in Shahid. I’ve tried my best to make this character as real as possible. I even stayed in London for a while to get the hang of his way of life.