After Shahid and Citylights, Hansal Mehta’s upcoming film Aligarh, based on the real life of an Aligarh university professor Mr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, features Rajkummar Rao as one of the characters, yet again. Needless to say, the actor is one of Hansal’s favourites.
“Rajkummar brings out the best in me I guess. He fits into my subjects. There is a certain faith that both of us have in each other. So if there is a role that I think Rajkummar can play, I will always cast him. The preference will be given to him because there is a trust and faith that we have in each other. I give him his space while he is performing and he does not give me stress while I am directing. He trusts me and as a result of that, what happens on the screen is quite magical. Simran (my next film) does not have Rajkummar. It has Kangana Ranaut, but that’s just incidental of course.”
Comparing his equation with Rajkummar to KJo and SRK’s relationship, he continues, “Nobody asks Karan Johar why he has made his films with Shah Rukh Khan because he (Shah Rukh) is a star. One would naturally want to make a film with him. For me, Rajkummar is my star,” he added.
Had Rajkummar not been available for this role, who would’ve best filled his shoes, we ask Hansal. “I have not thought about it. I think I would have waited for Rajkummar, if he had said, ‘sir, wait for me’. I have told him that in a year, I want minimum three months from you. The other nine months are for everyone else.”
