Success is accidental, it can change overnight; I aim for quality: Rajkummar Rao

Actor Rajkummar Rao, star of Newton and Bose: Dead/Alive, says he makes sure that success never goes to his head and also denies rumours of hiking his fees following hits and accolades.

Box-office success, one-of-a-kind roles, and a shot at the Oscars. The year 2017 has given it all to Rajkummar Rao. The film Bareilly ki Barfi drew audiences in droves; the web series, Bose: Dead/Alive cast him as none other than Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose; and his film Newton became India’s official entry to the Oscars 2018. That much we know about him. The question is: what effect has success had on him? The actor says that the positive things happening in his career have made content but not complacent.

“I want to do good films. I want people to know about my work,” says Rajkummar. “Success isn’t permanent, it’s there today, but it might not be there tomorrow. Success is accidental, it can change overnight. So I don’t let it go to my head. I am content with everything that’s happening in my career. But what I am aiming for is doing good work,” he smiles.

There are reports that Rajkummar has hiked his fees after this streak of success. “I haven’t. This is just speculation. It’s just that I have got a little busy,” laughs the actor, who is currently shooting for Fanney Khan, also starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. In another film, Rajkummar is paired with Shraddha Kapoor.

Alongside his films, Rajkummar was recently seen in Hansal Mehta’s web series on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, titled Bose: Dead/Alive. The subject was the enduring mystery of Netaji’s disappearance in 1945 after a plane crash — the argument over whether he is dead or alive rages even now.

The web series received a lot of appreciation. Rajkummar reveals, “I never thought I’d play the role of Bose someday. But when I saw that both Hansal and Ekta [Kapoor, producer] had so much faith in me and imagined me playing Bose, I decided to put in all my effort. I put on weight, shaved my head in half. But for me, more than the physical transformation, the internal transformation was important. I had to read a lot, watch videos, documentary, radio speeches etc to get an idea about the man. It also helped me in getting his [speech] style and tone right. And I loved the entire journey.”