Having been part of the film industry for over 16 years, actor Rajkummar Rao recently opened up about how he steers clear of labels imposed on him by the industry or audiences. The 42-year-old, who was part of a panel discussion at FICCI Frames on Wednesday, said, “Whatever terms people give you: star, superstar, brand, it does not concern me. My love for my art would always be first. He added, “When I go on set, when I take a script in my hand, and I start working on that script, that’s the most powerful. And the purest form of perceiving my art.”
Rao emphasised that his relationship with his craft has always taken precedence over the labels that come with success. It was never to be a brand. Or your colleagues give you. “When I am working on a character, I don’t want to deviate and think, ‘Is this story going to match my brand value? I don’t think like that. So for me, I am always going to be an actor. People can call you whatever they want. That approach is particularly relevant as Rao finds himself increasingly associated with biographical films. “I’m glad that people think of me when they think of a biopic. Biopics are a very difficult genre. And it takes a lot of guts and courage for everybody involved to make a biopic. Rao also reveals that the biopics he has done are only part of the offers that have come his way.
“It’s been 16 years in the industry, but I have never seen myself as a brand,” he said, adding, “Growing up, when I started doing theatre, my dream was to be a film actor one day. He also said, “These are the terms that people give you. Rao added that he does not want the idea of being a “brand” to influence the choices he makes as an actor. With Prahaar – The Ujjwal Nikam Story being his latest project, in which he plays public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, the actor says he is happy that filmmakers see him as someone who can take on the genre. “I have been offered a lot of them apart from what I have done,” he says.
