'Maalik' actor Rajkummar Rao on his Bollywood journey: 'Watched a lot of Shah Rukh Khan films, to be born in a low middle class family with no money and...'

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In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor spoke about his first outing as a gangster, his idea of mass cinema, the inspiration behind becoming an actor, and the dos and don'ts on his film sets. read more
Rajkummar Rao was the most successful star of 2024. For 2025, he has a film called Maalik coming up that releases in cinemas on July 11. There's Toasters with Sanya Malhotra as well which marks his and his wife and actress Patralekhaa's foray into production. This is a Netflix release. Now back to Maalik.
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor spoke about his first outing as a gangster, his idea of mass cinema, the inspiration behind becoming an actor, and the dos and don'ts on his film sets.
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Edited excerpts from the interview
So my first question to you is that every time I see an interview of an actor, they say they are accidental actors. Are you also going to tell me you are an accidental actor?
Not at all. I'm a very much planned actor. This is the only thing I wanted to do since I was a kid. When I started watching films, I fell in love with cinema. I fell in love with those actors, those stories, and I decided this is what I want to do in life. It was in class ninth or tenth I was, and that's where I started my journey with. I started doing theatre. I joined a film school, FTII in Pune. I came to Bombay for that.
So ever since the pandemic has ended, people have been saying that they want to watch mass cinema. So I first want to ask you before we move to Maalik, how would you define the term mass cinema?
I think every cinema is cinema, to be honest. You know, like, Stree worked part one I'm talking about. I don't know if it was a mass cinema. It was a story about a very small town called Chanderi, but the concept was so unique that people lapped it up. It became such a big success, and of course, Stree 2 broke all the records. Srikanth also worked. It's not like they are like mass cinema, maybe on a layman's terms if I would think that somebody which is larger than life, you know, with great music, some great set action pieces. Maybe that is what mass cinema's definition is, but for me, cinema is cinema. Either I like a film or I don't like a film.
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Your filmography has such a variety of titles, there is Ragini MMS, there is Trapped, there is Newton, there is Gangs of Wasseypur, there is Bhool Chuk Maaf. What drives your film choices?
Always a story. If a story is trying to say something new, it's a unique kind of story. And if it offers me something exciting to explore as an actor, I say yes to that. And then it also depends a lot on the director who's making it. Because it's absolutely a director's medium. You can be the best actor in the world, but if the director is not up to the mark, then that can never be turned into a good film.
So what excited you about Maalik?
Maalik, again, the story. I think it's such a powerful story with this rigid raw character and the journey that Maalik has from being this Majboor Baap Ka Beta who comes from a very low start of the society to becoming this Maalik. This journey got me very excited. And Pulkit, our director and the writer, he's a friend. We worked together, Bose. And he's a phenomenal filmmaker, very gutsy, very passionate about what he does, and a great human being, dear friend. And Jayu, who's our producer, he's also a dear friend. So it was a team that I thought would be so much fun to be a part of this team in this story.
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How was it like tasting blood?
It was the first time for me. I had a lot of fun. I had a great time fighting those AK 56 and AK 47 and then using my body to do action. I beefed up for this film. I I wanted to feel very strong to play Malik. So I enjoyed doing these action stunts and action pieces, also because they were very real in nature. He's doing things which are larger than life, but in a very believable manner.
Because most of the movies that are about gangsters are about good versus evil. But do you feel Malik digs deeper, the character as well as the film?
It does. It does. It digs deeper. It also tells you I love the line from our film, which is also in the trailer. It's the tagline also. It's a tagline, which is such a universal line. It doesn't talk only about Maalik. It talks about all of us that we are not born with a silver spoon, but we have that capability that we can make it big in life. We can be our own Maalik. We don't have to be a servant to anyone. So that's a line I really got connected with.
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Because it also describes your journey as well…
In a way, yes. I could, that's the reason maybe I could connect with it because I also come from a very humble beginnings, you know, to be born in a low middle class family with no money and to have this gutsy dream of becoming a film actor one day. The journey wasn't smooth, but it was exciting.
Was there any particular film that really inspired you to be a part of the industry?
We used to watch a lot of films. I grew up in a joint family and, there was this tradition that we would get that VCR for one night. And then we would watch two, three films that day. So I think there only it started. I remember watching a lot of Shahrukh Khan films in theatres and on VCR, watching Agneepath, believing in that story so much that I started crying after Vijay Deenanath Chauhan dies, that Amitabh Bachchan cannot die. He's Amitabh Bachchan. So I was howling under my pillow saying Bhagwan, please Amitabh Bachchan nahin mar sakta. So I believed those stories. I think all these actors influenced me to join this journey and to join their gang.
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Mukesh Chhabra has said this in many of his interviews that you are one of those rare actors who cracked every audition, be it Queen, Kai Po Che, Gangs of Wasseypur, Shahid. What goes behind auditioning for a film and your earliest memories of him?
So I, of course, auditioned for a lot of films. I auditioned for Queen. I auditioned for Kai Po Che. I didn't have to go through too many auditions for Shahid, to be honest. But because I used to be present in all the auditions of other actors, for every audition, if any actor would come, I would go in, so that I can support and then also can work on my own character in those auditions. I loved giving auditions. I thought it's a great exercise. Also, as an actor, you get to work. You get to perform in front of the camera. You get to try new things.
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So I have very fond memories of auditioning. And with Mukesh, of course, you know, his office was in Aram Nagar, and I was staying at Yari Road, which is not too far. I remember him, so many times he would just call me for an audition and I would turn up there. I'll be there in ten minutes because I knew this is the only thing I've come to the city for, to audition because that's the only way being an outsider that you can give a good audition and then maybe get a film. So I would turn up for every audition, and I enjoyed that process a lot.
You were described as the most successful and profitable actor of 2024. You were also the star of the year of 2017. But does commercial success ever drive your choices? I mean, do you look at a script and say that it's a good script, but maybe it's not commercial enough? I mean, corrupt might not be the right word, but do you get carried away?
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Corrupt is the only word. Corrupt is the only word. When you start choosing scripts, only thinking that, oh, this might work at the box office. Of course, every actor wants his films to work at the box office, but nobody knows the formula. We do everybody, we all do films thinking that this will be a success. Sometimes it's not. But it's not like your faith in that script would change. For example, a recent example, I would say Badhaai Do. It's one of my most favourite films. It didn't work as brilliantly at the box office that we would expect. The reason could be so many. Maybe the wrong release date, everything. It was during COVID But does it make anything less for that film in my head? No. It's still one of my most special films. It found its audience, and I would again and again work with Harsh who's a dear friend and a director.
You have been working very successfully as an actor. You are a bona-fide movie star. You're also turning a producer now. So as an actor, as a producer, as a star, what are some of the things on a movie set that you make sure are properly followed? It could be food for the co stars or the crew, working environment, working hours.
All these. That's the first thing, so Patralekhaa produced Toaster. And the next one that we are filming currently is, under our banner, which is a theatrical. That's also what Patralekhaa is producing. And the first thing that we said because, you know, after working for so many years for both of us, we know that you have to give good food to the crew. And you have to give it on time. That's the basic thing that they expect out of you. So the first thing we told our production team is that we cannot compromise on the food quality.
There has to be everybody working for the film. Nobody's doing anyone any favour. They're all professionals, so please provide good food and on time. And second thing is there cannot be any hierarchy on set. Everybody is equally important to the film. Everybody is contributing something or the other to the film. And even before turning into a producer, this is something I maintain, that there cannot be any hierarchy on set. It's not like I'm going to take, I'm going to call all the shots. Not at all.