The Irony of a Character - Rajkummar Rao

INTERVIEW

THE IRONY OF A CHARACTER WITH

RAJKUMMAR RAO Exclusive Interview By Armin S.

Rajkummar Rao has long been a favourite actor of mine. His ability to shine through diverse roles makes him a true actor. The sincerity with which he does his work is truly commendable. I was truly delighted to have the opportunity to speak with him about Badhaai Do and his experience with the character he played. Here are some interview excerpts.

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INTERVIEW

I REALIZED HOW LONELY IT CAN BE, LIVING IN A SHELL, UNABLE TO TELL THE WORLD YOUR TRUTH.

YOU PLAY A CHARACTER WHO DONS A UNIFORM WHO IS USED TO TELLING THE COMMUNITY WHAT TO DO; BUT YOUR CHARAC- TER IS ONE THAT IS HISTORICALLY AND CURRENTLY, ARGU- ABLY, OPPRESSED BY THAT SAME COMMUNITY. TELL ME ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP THAT YOUR CHARACTER HAS WITH SOCIETY.

Well, you got it absolutely right. That’s the irony of his life. He is trying to take control of his situation but he is somebody who is also not able to take control of his life. You can see from the broader perspective – yes, the trailer is fun, and with comedy, and humour, but – the broader perspective is that he is a lonely guy. There is so much frustration inside him because of society and family pressure. He’s not able to come out in the open and tell them what his sexuality is. That he is not interested in getting married but because of that pressure, he gets into this arrangement of a lavender marriage. He gets married to a girl who is in the same circumstances. She’s also facing the same situation. It is just so ironic.

WHAT CAN THE VOICE OF CINEMA DO FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY OPPRESSED BUT ALSO HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOU DO NOT FALL INTO THE POTHOLES OF STEREO- TYPES, AS AN ARTIST?

As an actor, I’m somebody who does not believe in doing things in a conventional way. I always want to break stereotypes. That’s exactly what the director and writers thought for this film. Even starting from the basics, his profession, he is a police officer. Most of the time, if somebody is homosexual, their profession is being designers. Here, I am a cop. He is a bodybuilder. His body language is not “feminine”. We did not want to take the conventional route. I love such scripts where we are not doing the obvious things people expect us to do. We are breaking stereotypes, breaking boundaries. The first look of the film had that impression on people too, which is great.

TELL ME ABOUT PORTRAYING NON-ROMANTIC LOVE AND GETTING THE WARMTH ACROSS ON SCREEN, WITHOUT SHOW- ING THE RESENTMENT A CHARACTER LIKE YOURS WOULD FEEL.

My character is someone who has five, six sisters. He lives in a joint family with uncles and aunts. He is the only son so he has this pressure on him but that only leads to him being more oppressed. The only person he seems to have by his side is his mother. There is a beautiful graph for her character as well. And when you have great actors like Sheeba Chadha and Seema Pahwa, it becomes easy. The moment you look into their eyes, you know that you are seeing true emotions. You know they are playing that character. You know, it makes my job easier. I also work on my relationships with different characters as an actor – that’s what it’s all about – relationships.

WHAT WAS SOMETHING NEW YOU DISCOVERED ABOUT YOUR- SELF THROUGH THE COURSE OF THIS FILM?

Well, two things. Nobody before this film has asked me to build muscles (laughs). I do whatever my character demands so I couldn’t have had a physique like this in Shahid or Trapped. There’s a reason why I have to look this way physically – why he loves working out every day. Apart from that, having lived this life, knowing that I was aware of the trials and tribulations people of his community face – I realized how lonely it can be, living in a shell, unable to tell the world your truth.

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