Decoding Rajkumar's formula

If an actor is supposed to change colours, Rajkummar Rao is a chameleon. Even before one could get over his double tone performance in Bareilly Ki Barfi, one discovers his look for Bose: Dead or Alive for which he not only put on weight but also shaved half his head. No that's not all. Director Amit V Mapuskar reveals, for Newton , where he plays an honest clerk volunteering for election duty, he sports a hair style that took two hours to create every day. It brings Nutan Kumar closer to Newton, one presumes. "It was his idea, says Amit. "I told him it will take time and we were shooting outdoors in Chhattisgarh but he wanted it. He would wake up at 4.30 in the morning to get his hair done. As we meet in a Delhi's posh hotel, Rajkummar takes off his hat to show his pate. "They are coming back fast, grins the National Award winning actor.

If you expect him to give a profound quote on his earnestness to become a character, Rajkummar disappoints. "I am just doing my job. Naukri kar rahe hain... There is no one formula to arrive at a character. The goal is that your message should reach the audience. I follow this route and it works for me. The promos of Newton show Sanjay Mishra, who plays a senior of Newton, remarking that Newton is arrogant about his honesty. It seems Rajkummar also shares these traits. We have seen the two attributes separately in characters that he played in Shaitan , Ragini MMS and City Lights. "I am not arrogant but yes I am very honest in my approach. I have many colours and as an actor I want to make use of as many shades as possible. After a pause, he adds, "I like challenges. I keep searching for such roles. I know my process is painful but it works for me. Indeed even as the world is talking about how Nutan Kumar became Newton, the stills of Omerta , which was screened at Toronto Film Festival are already out. Based on the life of terrorist Omar Seed Sheikh, it is his fourth film with Hansal Mehta after Shahid , City Lights and Aligarh .

The story of Omar, who was once a student of London School of Economics, slays the notion that only uneducated take to arms in the name of religion. "The recent terror activity in Bangladesh also showed the involvement of educated youth. We have to figure out why bright people are getting brain washed, remarks Rajkummar.

Different paths

He says he had no idea of this space despite doing Shahid, based on the life of advocate Shahid Azmi, who also spent some time in terror camps. "Both faced personal injustice and both felt strongly about it but they chose different paths. While Shahid came back to sacrifice his life for a social cause, Omar chose the path of anger, violence and hatred.

As Rajkummar, he says, he believes in Shahid's ideology. "I strongly condemn what Omar did but then once the camera is on, you have to live the character. It was a very disturbing space. I read about the history of terrorism, listened to hate speeches and watched videos of brutality. In fact, I saved graphic images of brutality as wallpapers on my mobile. It allowed me to enter the mental space of Omar. I could feel his anger and perhaps you would be able to see that in my eyes in the film. Here he had to develop a muscular body. "I also had to grow a beard. It took two months. So in this period I could not do anything else. It is painful but it is my way of understanding the mental space of the character.

He clarifies that the film doesn't glorify terrorism. "It is just showing what's happening. The idea is to make people aware of the problem. The film also shows a father-son relationship where the father is society to Omar. Also, I believe films don't change people. Had that been the case all policemen would have been like the one in Shool . Films just bring issues in public domain.

Unapologetic take

Describing Mehta as a courageous filmmaker, Rajkummar says he has once again made an "explosive film. A complex character, Omar made headlines when he was released after militants highjacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 and took it to Kandhar. Later he was convicted of the heinous murder of journalist Daniel Pearl. "There is much more...it is an unapologetic film. He says Mehta doesn't compromise at the shooting stage. "The CBFC is there to take call on what is appropriate. Does it disappoint an actor? Rajkummar laughs. "Yes, in my first film, LSD , I was asked to go butt naked. I agreed, but when I watched the film, I found that it was blurred. I said what's point. If you had told me, I would have put on something.

With films like Newton finding a decent theatrical release, Rajkummar says Hindi cinema is going through a change. "Such films were earlier tagged as festival films. It is no longer the case. And the way some of the so-called big mainstream films have bombed at the box office, small films with big content could well be the new mainstream. And Rajkummar could well be the star of this space? "Well, I don't aim to be a star. I like Aamir Khan, who is a good example of a star and an actor. I think we need more Aamir Khans, sums up Rajkummar