As he turns 42 on Monday, we look back at his journey from struggling to make ends meet in Mumbai to establishing himself as one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry. Rajkummar Rao is one of the most critically acclaimed actors in the country.
In an interaction with Ranveer Allahbadia in 2024, Rajkummar shared that he wanted to become an actor from his school days and was involved in theatre. Rajkummar, who hails from Gurugram, recalled that at the age of 18, he would cycle 70 km each way from Gurugram to Delhi every day to attend acting school at the Sri Ram Centre. The actor, however, wasn’t paid well for the film and earned ₹ 11,000 for it. He said, “Now, the day I was left with only ₹ 18, I was thinking what will I do? After Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Rajkummar starred in critically acclaimed films such as Gangs of Wasseypur 2, Kai Po Che!, Queen, Shaitaan, Aligarh and Shahid,which made him win the Best Actor National Award. The film explores some of the landmark cases associated with Nikam, including the trial of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Kasab.
It was his mother who recognised his passion and encouraged him to pursue acting. Rajkummar got his first break in Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhokha. He recalled that the amount lasted him for a month. However, the actor admitted that even during those difficult financial times, he made sure he didn’t fall into the ‘trap’ of taking up projects solely for money. This was the time when Rajkummar’s FTII batchmates came to his help. We have a FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) committee in Mumbai. A lot of our seniors and juniors live here. So, you can ring anybody and ask them what are they having for dinner and if you can come. his performances were widely appreciated by critics and audiences While several of Rajkummar’s films did not emerge as major box-office successes. He was last seen in Toaster with Sanya Malhotra. Rajkummar will next be seen in Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story, a biographical courtroom drama based on the life and career of renowned public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. The film is directed by Avinash Arun and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films. It also stars Wamiqa Gabbi, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sikander Kher, Ashish Vidyarthi, Lalit Prabhakar and Ritvik Sahore.
He would often listen to songs such as “Lakshya Ko Har Haal Me Pana Hai” and “Papa Kahte Hain” on his walkman during the journey. The actor said that though it might sound romantic, but it was his reality at that time and he didn’t mind it.
