<p>In the last six months, Rajkummar Rao has lost weight, gained some and chopped off his hair to appear half-bald, all in the service of his craft.<br /><br />The actor, who turned 33 recently, however, says the physical transformation is just one aspect and there is nothing special about it.<br /><br />Rao says, “It has never been about me; acting is not an ego game. It is always about the character and the film. I can’t be thinking about how I look, who my co-stars are or whether they have a better role than me.”<br /><br />It has been a great year for Rao, who wowed in films such as ‘Trapped’, ‘Behen Hogi Teri’ and ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’. <br /><br />His role in ‘Bareilly’ impressed Amitabh Bachchan so much that he sent a handwritten congratulatory note and a bouquet of flowers to the actor.<br /><br />Rao says as someone who fell in love with acting, he will never do anything that requires calculation. <br />“I could have done anything in life. It is something that I am doing for myself. So if I am in this profession, I have to be completely honest to it. My responsibilities are always towards my characters, not towards me or what others think about me.” <br /><br />His next release is ‘Newton’ where Rao plays an election officer trying to get voting done in a Naxal-affected area.<br /><br />Then the actor has again collaborated with Hansal Mehta for ‘Omerta’, which recounts the real-life story of the infamous British-born terrorist, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered ‘Wall Street Journal’ reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. <br /><br />Mehta and Rao have also ventured out into the digital space with the 10-part web series ‘Bose’, where Rao will be seen playing Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.<br /><br />Mehta first worked with Rao in ‘Shahid’, which was based on the life of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi and won Rao a National Award. Mehta went on to repeat the actor in ‘CityLights’ and ‘Aligarh’. <br /><br />“I feel very lucky to have found Hansal sir in my life. You need somebody who always pushes you as an actor. He always offers me something which I have not done before or which I have not imagined myself doing,” Rao says.<br /><br />The actor says for ‘Omerta’, he went into a really dark space but it was exciting to play such a negative role with the same filmmaker who directed him in ‘Shahid’.<br /><br />“It’s an unconventional film for both of us. It’s in stark contrast to what ‘Shahid’ was. Because I have done ‘Shahid’, it was great as an actor to do an absolutely different character with the <br />same director.”<br /><br />‘Bose’ is Rao’s dream role and he went all out for it as he feels that many get the chance to play the founder of the Azad Hind Fauj. <br /><br />The actor says his hairstylist was aghast when he told him to shave off the top of his head. <br />“For ‘Bose’, I had to physically try and resemble him as much as possible. I can’t exactly look like him but if I can make it believable, then my job is done. We had an option to use prosthetics but that would have restrained me as an actor.”</p>
<p>In the last six months, Rajkummar Rao has lost weight, gained some and chopped off his hair to appear half-bald, all in the service of his craft.<br /><br />The actor, who turned 33 recently, however, says the physical transformation is just one aspect and there is nothing special about it.<br /><br />Rao says, “It has never been about me; acting is not an ego game. It is always about the character and the film. I can’t be thinking about how I look, who my co-stars are or whether they have a better role than me.”<br /><br />It has been a great year for Rao, who wowed in films such as ‘Trapped’, ‘Behen Hogi Teri’ and ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’. <br /><br />His role in ‘Bareilly’ impressed Amitabh Bachchan so much that he sent a handwritten congratulatory note and a bouquet of flowers to the actor.<br /><br />Rao says as someone who fell in love with acting, he will never do anything that requires calculation. <br />“I could have done anything in life. It is something that I am doing for myself. So if I am in this profession, I have to be completely honest to it. My responsibilities are always towards my characters, not towards me or what others think about me.” <br /><br />His next release is ‘Newton’ where Rao plays an election officer trying to get voting done in a Naxal-affected area.<br /><br />Then the actor has again collaborated with Hansal Mehta for ‘Omerta’, which recounts the real-life story of the infamous British-born terrorist, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who kidnapped and murdered ‘Wall Street Journal’ reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. <br /><br />Mehta and Rao have also ventured out into the digital space with the 10-part web series ‘Bose’, where Rao will be seen playing Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.<br /><br />Mehta first worked with Rao in ‘Shahid’, which was based on the life of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi and won Rao a National Award. Mehta went on to repeat the actor in ‘CityLights’ and ‘Aligarh’. <br /><br />“I feel very lucky to have found Hansal sir in my life. You need somebody who always pushes you as an actor. He always offers me something which I have not done before or which I have not imagined myself doing,” Rao says.<br /><br />The actor says for ‘Omerta’, he went into a really dark space but it was exciting to play such a negative role with the same filmmaker who directed him in ‘Shahid’.<br /><br />“It’s an unconventional film for both of us. It’s in stark contrast to what ‘Shahid’ was. Because I have done ‘Shahid’, it was great as an actor to do an absolutely different character with the <br />same director.”<br /><br />‘Bose’ is Rao’s dream role and he went all out for it as he feels that many get the chance to play the founder of the Azad Hind Fauj. <br /><br />The actor says his hairstylist was aghast when he told him to shave off the top of his head. <br />“For ‘Bose’, I had to physically try and resemble him as much as possible. I can’t exactly look like him but if I can make it believable, then my job is done. We had an option to use prosthetics but that would have restrained me as an actor.”</p>
