Rajkummar Rao: I’ve done films for emotional reasons

Rajkummar, who plays a Gujarati businessman Raghu in the film, shares how its team was very cautious of not stereotyping the community or the profession. While he claims that box office reports don’t matter, he does express gratitude over the audience’s expectations from his films.

In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Rajkummar got candid about working with an ensemble in Made In China, how he approaches his characters and his love for dance.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Q. What is it about Made In China that makes it different?

Rajkummar: It’s highly entertaining and it’s very relatable. These characters are very real, they’re talking about real problems. And we have some really remarkable actors – Paresh sir, Boman sir, Gajraj sir, Sumeet Vyas, who are so wonderful in the film. And the kind of world that Mikhil has created, you will cheer for these characters. I saw the film last night, that’s why I’m even happier. They’ll make you laugh but you will be emotionally invested in their journey.

Q. But we’ve seen enough Gujarati community in our films. How did you make sure to not stereotype them?

Rajkummar: That was the first thing that we were very conscious about, that we can’t do it in a caricaturist way. It has to be authentic, it has to be real. And for that, I spent a lot of time with the locals in Ahmedabad. I had a lot of conversation with them, recorded them, and tried to recreate whatever I picked up. I hope when you see it, it won’t sound like what we see on our screens and TV mostly.

Rajkummar Rao plays a Gujarati businessman in Made In China.

Q. You bring a certain realism to your roles. How do you approach a film or a character?

Rajkummar: Very tough to put it in words, trust me! And well, they are real characters. There are people who come from this planet only. They did not come from Mars. So they are human beings. I’m just trying to recreate that, I’m just keeping it human.

I prepare for my character. And sometimes homework becomes a little extra when there are films like Shahid or Trapped or Newton. But then there are films like Bareilly Ki Barfi where you do prepare for your character, but then it’s mostly about having fun on set with your scenes and with your co-actors. But Raghu is a great combination, where you really have to prepare and then also try and have fun on set. I think that’s the kind of combination I would always love to have.

Q. Has your preference of signing scripts changed over the last few years?

Rajkummar: Preference is still the same. The story has to excite me, it has to offer something new to me, it has to challenge me as an actor. The preference hasn’t changed at all.

Q. And what about the responsibility? What happens when the audience begins to associate you with a certain kind of cinema, in your case, content-driven scripts?

Rajkummar: I do understand that responsibility, but that’s the responsibility even I have for myself. I have that kind of expectation for myself that I need to push it, I need to grow as an actor. I can’t take things for granted. And I don’t like things which come easy.

Q. What goes in your mind when films you expect to work, do not, as they fail to fit into a certain kind of mould the audience has set for you?

Rajkummar: I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. But there’s a lot of gratitude for that if people have that kind of faith in me. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was a story that I wanted to be a part of. We don’t talk about LGBTQ society. We still feel its a taboo. It was an important story that needed to be told. And then there are some films which I’ve done for emotional reasons, which maybe I didn’t want to be a part of, but then you end up doing them and realise that maybe it was not really the right decision.

Q. So does box office matter?

Rajkummar: Box office is not in my hands. I can’t control that. I’m just purely talking about the process. I can’t take that process for granted. I have to make it different from my earlier performances. If I don’t grow as an actor with everything, then there’s no point in being an actor.

Rajkummar Rao along with Nora Fatehi and others in a still from Stree’s song “Kamariya”.

Q. We see you indulging into a lot of song and dance in your recent films.

Rajkummar: (Smiles) I love dancing. But it’s the makers who decide that. In Stree also, we did “Milegi Milegi” and “Kamariya” without even knowing that I could really dance. Bijay, our choreographer was very surprised when we were shooting for “Kamariya”. He said ‘Sir, you have to come and shake a leg with Nora (Fatehi)’. I did that and he was shocked, he said ‘I didn’t know you could dance.’ And then we did “Milegi Milegi”. These are promotional numbers, not really part of the film. But I enjoy dancing, whenever I get a chance I really cherish it.

Q. You have some really interesting films lined-up.

Rajkummar: Oh yes! After Made In China, I have Hansal Mehta’s next which is tentatively called Turram Khan. Then I’m doing Anurag Kashyap’s crime comedy, Ludo. I’m really thrilled about it because it’s a very different avatar that you’ll see of mine. Then I have Roohi Afza which is a horror comedy.