Filmfare – July 15, 2019

INTERVIEW

K

een to do Hindi

films, Rakul kick-

started her journey

with Divya Khosla

Kumar’s musical

Yaariyan (2014).

Her second film, Ramesh

Sippy’s Shimla Mirch,

opposite Rajkummar Rao

however has remained

in the cans. Last year,

she appeared in Neeraj

Panday’s Aiyaary, an

action thriller with Manoj

Bajpayee and Sidharth

Malhotra. Though

critically well-received,

the film failed to cut ice

commercially.

But with DDPD, there’s

no looking back for Rakul.

Her character of the

London-based Ayesha

by him. But he was warm

and welcoming. I didn’t

feel I was working with

a superstar.” She goes on

to share an interesting

childhood memory,

“Ruk ruk from Ajay sir’s

Vijaypath was my favourite

song. I won prizes in

school for singing it during

competitions – once a

teddy bear and later a

trophy.” She’s thrilled

that life has come full

circle. She admires Ajay

as a professional. “He’s

so relaxed on the set. He

doesn’t stress and doesn’t

allow you to be hassled

either. Above all, he’s

punctual. If you call him

at 5 am, he’ll be there,” she

says. She adds that he’s a

prepared for such a role.

“Today, I’m more prepared

as an actor and as a person

to deal with the pressures

that come along with the

job. I’ve been spending

much time in Mumbai.

I hold four meetings in a

day. I hope people take

notice of me this time.”

She has an interesting

line-up to look forward

to. She’s finished

shooting for Milap

Zaveri’s action drama

Marjaavaan with Sidharth

Malhotra. Down South,

she has Manmadhudu

2 with Nagarjuna and

NGK opposite Suriya.

Reportedly, she will

romance Nithiin in a

film directed by Chandra

A WEIRD HABIT

Reading menus

on Zomato

A FILM YOU CAN WATCH

AGAIN AND AGAIN

Dilwale Dulhania Le

Jayenge (DDLJ)

CHARACTERS

YOU WISHED YOU

HAD PLAYED

Veera of Highway,

Geet of Jab We Met,

Simran of DDLJ

A FAVOURITE

LIPSTICK SHADE

Twig by Mac

SOMETHING YOU’D

LIKE TO CHANGE

ABOUT YOURSELF

I’m restless.

I can’t sit in one place.

YOUR NICKNAME

Eveready Battery

ONE THING YOU LOVE

ABOUT YOURSELF

That I can multi-task.

YOUR CELEBRITY

CRUSH

Ranveer Singh

AN OBSESSION

I have an OCD about

being punctual.

AN IMPOSSIBLE WISH

To eat everything and

not put on weight.

Don’t blame the industry alone. There are good and

bad people everywhere. Exploitation exists everywhere.

Some people misuse their position. Now the law will

punish them

Fire

Rapid

doting father. “He looks

forward to spending time

with his kids after pack-up.

I respect the family man

he is.” She has words of

appreciation for Tabu too.

“Her command over the

language is amazing. Her

eyes speak. As an actor

you observe and learn

from her.” She values the

opportunity of working

with seniors. “When

you have talented actors

around, you push yourself

to the maximum limit. You

have to match up to their

level. If you get nervous,

then you’re letting go of the

chance to prove yourself.

Life doesn’t give a second

chance.”

She believes in staying

positive. She says she

could crib about having

done DDPD earlier in her

career. But that would

be wrong as she was not

Sekhar Yeleti.

It may be mentioned that

actor Alok Nath, producer

Luv Ranjan and casting

director Vicky Sidana,

who are facing #MeToo

allegations, are associated

with DDPD. What does

she have to say about that?

“Like Ajay sir has already

said we had finished the

shooting of DDPD before

#MeToo happened. The

matter is sub-judice. I’m

no one to comment,”

she excuses herself and

continues, “About Luv sir,

I can only talk from my

experience. My experience

with the team has been

great. Luv sir’s mother,

dad, sister... all would

be on the set. It was like

one happy family.” She

applauds the crusade

though saying #MeToo is a

great initiative. “My heart

goes out to those women.

has struck a chord with

the audience. “Ayesha

is a fun-loving girl. She’s

independent, smart, free-

spirited and outspoken.

She’s today’s girl. She’s a

bartender and loves her

job as much as she loves

alcohol,” she laughs. Rakul

had to lose around 10 kilos

for her role. “I worked

out. I attended bartending

classes, dance classes...

to get into the character,”

says the fitness enthusiast,

who runs a franchise of

gyms in Hyderabad and

Visakhapatnam.

That she was noticed

despite sharing the frame

with actors like Tabu and

Ajay Devgn is a matter

of pride for her. She

confides she was nervous

when facing the camera

with Ajay. “I’ve grown

up watching Ajay sir. So

you do get intimidated