Rajkumar Rao: Patralekha is my gf/Patralekha: can't predict the future

Are you feeling any pressure after winning the national award for Shahid?
Oh, not at all! I'm just feeling very happy.

Being an outsider in Mumbai, could you relate with your character of Citylights?
Not really. But I could connect with Deepak Singh's (his characters name in Citylights) journey because just like him, I came here with the dreams to live a better life. Other than that both have their independent struggles.

Can you share your struggle period in Mumbai?
I struggled for almost two year to get my first break. But I didn't have to sleep on pavements. I'm really thankful to my family. They supported me throughout my journey.

After Shahid, this is your second film with Hansal Mehta...
I think the more we work together, the more we'll start loving each other. He always says that I'm his muse. We understand each other so well. We share a great rapport.

You've been compared to Aamir Khan in terms of perfection and approach...
I feel honoured and overwhelmed. Although, I'm nothing in comparison to Aamir Khan. For me, he's the school of acting. I get inspired every time I watch him on screen. When people compare me with him, of course I feel happy. Hopefully, someday I'd be able to reach his level.

Are you in touch with him?
Yes, we are in touch. We keep meeting whenever we have the time. I remember meeting him a month back at Kangana Ranaut's birthday party. He's always been really supportive.

There is an intimate lovemaking scene with Patralekha in Citylights. Were you comfortable doing this particular scene?
When I perform a scene, I enact a character. That makes my job real easy and hats off to Patralekha and Hansal Sir for creating an environment which was so comfortable.

Is it true that Patralekha is your girlfriend?
Yes, we are seeing each other for quite some time. It's been more than three years. But that has nothing to do with this film. At this point of time the film is the most important for both of us. She has performed brilliantly in the film and I hope people like her work and the film.

When you are planning to get married?
(Laughs) Not anytime soon. I'm a 29-year-old kid. There's so much to do in life. Marriage can wait. Maybe I'll get married after ten years.

Are you planning to do just solo films henceforth?
I always go with the script. A good script excites me. I'm a greedy actor. I want to be on screen for a long time but I want to play the protagonist. But it all depends on the script. If tomorrow someone gives me a script like Satya, I would love to play Bhikhu Mhatre in it and not Satya.

Apparently, Anushka Sharma was regretting her decision of not taking you for NH 10...
I don't think that there is any truth to this news because I know Navdeep Singh (director of NH 10), Anushka and Neil Bhoopalam who is playing the character that you're talking about. Neil is a fantastic actor and I'm sure he's done a phenomenal job in the film. Also, NH 10 got delayed and I had started shooting for Citylights. I couldn't have done both these films simultaneously anyway.

What are your expectations from Citylights?
I don't think too much about a film, once I'm done with it. I just hope and pray that the love, passion and honesty with which we've made the film, should show on screen. I hope that it touches the hearts of people, just the way Shahid did.

Exclusive: Me and Rajkummar are together, but can't predict the future, says Patralekhaa

She is the fresh new face everyone's talking about in B-town. With just a trailer to show till now, Patralekhaa, the leading lady of Hansal Mehta's much-awaited new film Citylights', has created quite a stir. As the film's producer, the indefatigable Mahesh Bhatt feels, she is the glorious future Bollywood's been waiting for.

Hailing from Shillong, where her father is a practising chartered accountant and mother a homemaker, Patralekhaa studied in Assam Valley Public School before doing her plus two in Bishop Cotton Girls' School Bangalore and finally shifting to Mumbai to do her graduation from HR College of Commerce. Even while in college, Patralekhaa started appearing in commercials.

After graduation, she took a two-year break to hone her acting skills. She went on to do various acting workshops with veterans like Barry John and other senior actors. Thereafter she started auditioning and bagged Citylights', where the makers were looking for a fresh face opposite Rajkummar Rao.

And those who have seen Citylights' feel that Patralekhaa is simply outstanding as the young wife who comes to Mumbai from the interiors of Rajasthan.

Producer Mahesh Bhatt has gone on to say that he is very impressed by the newcomer's acting abilities and is very happy she is being launched under his banner.

Come May 30 and Patralekhaa's talent will be out there for the world to see. And for her to fly.

In an industry where actresses prefer to make their debut in glossy films shot in exotic locales sporting smart dresses, Patralekhaa has chosen to enter Hindi films in a deglamourized and emotionally strenuous role in 'Citylights'. Counting her blessings and thanking her luck, this petite Bengali beauty speaks to Pinkvilla about her choices, love life and future choices.

Tell us about your background. You have grown up in the North East, not the usual stomping ground for actresses in India. How did you get into films?

I grew up in Shillong, Meghalaya. My father is a chartered accountant, and I grew up in a normal, middle class family. I have spent most of my school years in quality boarding schools, first Assam Valley School in Tezpur, Assam; and then Bishop Cotton Convent in Bangalore. I moved to Mumbai to study B.Comm and was planning to become a CA too. But I got a break in TV ads, very easily. In fact, I acted in an ad produced by BR Chopra productions, and a day's work in ads used to make me as much as 50,000 INR which is a lot of money!

I was doing occasional ads, when the casting directors began to call me for film auditions. It was all a bit much, so I took time to prepare myself, I took two years off. I studied acting with Barry John, and also apprenticed with leading theatre actors in Mumbai before stepping into films seriously. I wanted to hone my craft before starting out.

Why make a debut in a tough film like 'Citylights'? It's a tough character, and a tough setting, where you need to become a bar dancer to survive. Your life seems to be relatively struggle free. How did you prepare for this role?

Well, I am an outsider in Bollywood. Being an outsider, when this role was offered to me, it would have been stupid to not take it up. It's a role with tremendous scope for performance. Besides, I was getting an opportunity to work in a film produced by Mahesh Bhatt, and directed by Hansal Mehta. I had watched 'Shahid' and had become an admirer of his work. Being born and brought up in the NE, I am so used to a westernised, relaxed culture. To prepare us for our roles in the film, and to break us out of our moulds, Hansal sir sent us packing off to Pali, a small hamlet near Udaipur in Rajasthan for three weeks. For this entire duration, we lived with a local family there, ate with them, spent time with local people to get a better understanding of local culture and language. In the evenings, we would sit together and discuss the day, set out our observations and Hansal sir would tweak it as per the film's requirements.

If you were to juxtapose your experiences of looking for a film role in Bollywood, with what happens to your character in the film, were you ever forced to make uncomfortable compromises? Did you ever get sleazy advances during your modelling and acting days?

Actually, I have never ever faced these situations, not once during my entire career! We've always worked with casting directors, who sort out suitable roles for us, and never directly had to deal with filmmakers or ad filmmakers directly. In fact, I have a lot of friends in this industry, girls from Eastern India, and they have never faced sleaze and undue advances either. So I can't draw any similarities to my experiences and my character's situation in the film.

To be fair, with Gitanjali Thapa winning the national film award for best actress this year, it is clear that there are no prejudices against talented people in the film industry.

About you and Rajkummar, you both are romantically involved right?

Yes, we have been dating for about a year and a half, and are committed to each other. But I am 24, and he is 28, and we have just begun in our careers, so, we can't necessarily predict the future of our relationship yet. But we are together.

What's next for you? What other films are coming up?

I haven't signed any Hindi films yet, but I do have a very interesting Bengali film Dhaaker Shaaj' coming up. It co-stars national award winning actor Ritwick Chokroborty and Somnath Gupto. It's a film about friendship, and has a beautiful storyline. I am really looking forward to it too!

Originally posted by: ILoveSavio

He says they've been together for over three years, and she says a year and a half? 😕