Pritam's role was a tough part to portray, says Rajkummar Rao

With Bareilly Ki Barfi, Bollywood is finally taking notice of Rajkummar Rao. The National Award-winning actor admits that he is still overwhelmed with the reaction. The actor reveals that it was a rather difficult role to portray since his character could have easily stepped into the hamming territory. In a chat, Rajkummar tells us about being recognised as a man of talent and choosing content-driven films.

You are getting rave reviews for your performance in Bareilly Ki Barfi. How difficult was it play the repressed character with a dual personality?
It was a tough part to portray. There was a very thin line stopping me from going overboard, specially once my character goes aggressive in the second half. There aren’t many shades available in Pritam Vidrohi apart from his personality change. So it was a challenge for me to make him believable and human and still make people feel for him. I am quite overwhelmed by the reactions I’m getting for this portrayal.

Pritam Vidrohi is unable to express his feelings. How easy was it for you to win over your girlfriend Patralekha and did you have to work hard to win her affection?
Raj is very different from Pritam and it wasn’t this complicated with Patralekha. She is a wonderful girl and I was just being myself. Our relationship grew with time and it was a very organic process for us to fall for each other. We took around a year to know each other before we started dating.

Critics feel that you’re one of the most versatile contemporary actors. How satisfied are you with the progress you’ve made in your career?
I’m very happy with the way it’s going as of now barring one or two films. I’ve always wanted to do content-driven films and am very happy that now that’s what our audience also want to see. Content has become the king.

Which of your other films do we look forward to?
Hopefully, all of them (laughs). Post Bareilly Ki Barfi, there is Newton releasing on September 22. Then there is Bose, Omerta with Hansal sir (Mehta) and a film directed  by Ratna Sinha co-starring  Kriti Kharbanda.