Actor Rajkummar Rao believes that small is the new big whether it is business or ideas for a film, says Ayushi Sharma
With a few other actors, Rajkummar Rao is powering a change in the world of content, where films, rooted in real lives, are making a more frequent appearance on the screen. But he refuses to take credit and prefers to hand out accolades to the audience by saying, “It couldn’t have been possible without them. I have always done films that I believed in. I follow my heart. But it’s the viewers who acknowledge my work. They are the reason why we, as actors, get to do what we want to. We are getting to be a part of exciting stories because they have happily accepted out-of-the-box content and are welcoming this new change in cinema. We just portray the characters that they can believe in.”
The actor has often picked films with scripts, which revolve around middle class men or small towns. And somehow the time also seemed right for actors like Rajkummar as the stories in Hindi film industry, which were earlier considered parallel, are now mainstream. He believes that the change was brought about by several factors. He says, “Cinema is getting more rooted now. It has become the new mainstream. These are characters that I relate to and so does everybody. I’ve seen these in my life. I am someone who believes in reality. So I can relate to these stories and the problems they go through. That’s the reason why I get attracted to them. But having said that, it’s not like I am not open to doing something different. I am very much ready to explore different ideas.”
Rajkummar, an alumni of FTII, has been influenced in his choices by the great work done by many actors as well as directors who have graduated from the institute. He is highly inspired by all these stories, the way they function and their processes. He wanted to do exactly that. “When Love Sex Aur Dhokha, (LSD) happened, first film made entirely in the digital format with different cameras, I was delighted to start on that note. But then, by the time I was getting recognised in the industry, there was already a wave of exceptional filmmakers and original ideas. And they were pushing the envelope of cinema. I got a chance to work with most of them such as Vikram Motwane, Hansal Mehta, Anurag Kashyap, Reema Kagti. They have really helped me grow as an actor. I am really glad that I got the chance,” says he.
The National Award winner is all set to display his acting chops with another powerhouse performance in Made in China, directed by Mikhil Musale. The film is an enduring journey of Raghuvir Mehta, a middle class struggling Gujarati businessman, who is trying to make it big. He has tried his hands at many disparate ideas which have flopped but he is not ready to give up. As the film progresses, he lands up in China and returns with an aphrodisiac, a kind of soup made from tiger parts that supposedly cures all sex-related problems. He realises that the Chinese find Indians as those who prefer sex over smooth roads. Raghuvir’s mentor (Paresh Rawal) tells him, “Don’t sell the story. Sell the hero.” That hero is sexologist Dr Vardhi (Boman Irani). And the story follows Raghuvir who convinces him to start a business together. He becomes rich but several complications follow.
He feels that it’s time to talk about taboos like sex. Primarily, the film is the journey of Raghuvir but sex is an underlying theme which says that it is okay to talk about it and the problems around it. “Boman sir always says, if you get fever or cold, you go to a doctor or take a paracetamol. Similarly, if you have a sexual problem, there are doctors for that too. It’s as normal as that,” says he.
Of course, the changing discourse of India, where the growth of technology has helped fuel the idea of startups, too, forms the backdrop of the film. The trend, as we are seeing, is towards smaller set-ups rather than big organisations. Indians of the new millennia are strong believers of pursuing their dreams rather than following the instructions of any foreign multinational, believes Rajkummar. He says, “Raghuvir, too, didn’t start the business in China. He just gets the idea to India and starts his business in Ahmedabad. I was in Bangalore and met a lot of people with different startup ideas. I feel the whole culture is really expanding. It’s getting huge and a lot of people are coming up with crazy ideas every day.”
So how did Rajkummar prepare for the role? Were there any reference points from real life? He says, “As Raghuvir is a Gujarati guy, my first job was to sound like that because I am not from the state. I am not familiar with the place at all. I spent a fair amount of time in Ahmedabad and spoke to many locals. I recorded all my conversations and listened to them repeatedly to get the nuance that I wanted for my character. We wanted to keep it authentic and not make it look caricaturish. I just recreated whatever I heard. Another thing was that I wanted to look a bit different, physically, for this film. I gained some weight, especially on my tummy and got a unibrow, which is inspired by Mikhil.”
Certainly, another idea that is unique in content and carries the stamp of the actor.
(The film releases on October 25.)
Photo: Pankaj Kumar