Bollywood ki barfi: Rajkummar Rao

Over the long weekend we finally watched Bareily ki Barfi over caramel popcorn and could have been avoided coffee. While the movie itself was not profound cinema it left the same pleasurable feeling that a good motichur laddoo would, a simple and small treat, no michellin star plating needed. While the movie is aesthetically in the small town rom com genre, what sets it apart it Rajkummar Rao’s superb turn as Pritam Vidrohi, an unusual name for a most unusual role. 2017 will see him in Newton, whose trailer looks very promising, the web series, Bose dead/alive and Hansal Mehta’s Omerta which is finally premiering at TIFF. As versatile as the humble ubiquitous barfi, Rajkummar can take any shape, or form, adding flavour to the film without drawing attention to himself. 

Born and raised in Gurgaon, Rajkummar Rao, nee Yadav, graduated from FTII and got his first break playing the unscrupulous shop manager who uses a sex tape to make a quick buck. Ragini MMS, Talaash and Shaitan released soon after, but the breakthrough came with Shahid, which made people sit up and marvel at this immensely talented young actor. A National Award followed as did other incredible performances. The savage desperation of Trapped, the poignant despair in Citylights, or the obnoxious city slicker fiancée in Queen, Rajkummar has played varied parts with restraint and realism. Straddling the worlds of commercial and parallel cinema with aplomb, he seems to have found the right balance between artistic satisfaction and commercial viability.

It’s interesting how he has no celebrity construct, or stereotypical mannerisms that trap actors as they become stars. He surprises audiences with each performance, relying on good old-fashioned acting over makeup gimmicks, fancy prosthetics, or Manish Malhotra’s summer collection. Notice his subtle reaction when Kangana Ranaut sends him a picture of herself by mistake from Paris. There is no close-up shot or camera movement, he just runs a finger over his face and takes a long sip of his beer, but the body language says it all. Or watch the unusual way he blinks as Newton in the trailer; it’s a small characteristic, but says a lot about him as a character. The hug Shahid gives his mother after he comes back from jail can move anyone to tears, and his smooth transition between babua to bad ass in BKB is comical and admirable in equal measure.

Joining the small and exclusive group of actors which pretty much has only three members, Nawazzudin Siddiqui, Irrfan Khan and probably Manoj Bajpayee, Rao is lucky to be acting at a time when Bollywood is finally losing its definitions of commercial and art cinema. A decade ago he would have remained in the sidelines, playing a sidekick to a Khan or Kapoor, the geek who gets bullied at college, or worse still been relegated to playing junior artist roles. Having professional stylists, PR teams, managers, and a professional approach to film making, has helped film makers who script outside the box produce unusual stories amidst the 100 crore monoliths.

Also notable is his willingness to do parts irrespective of on screen time. He has been seen in supporting roles or as a character actor for the most part of his career but Rajkummar has never shied away from a good script, choosing instead to make a mark with the material given to him. So whether it was that one awkward line after Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee's showdown in Talaash, or taking the lead in Shahid, Rajkummar lends the same conviction and sincerity to every performance. 

He often reminds me of the late actor Om Puri. The simplicity, the intensity, and the effortless camouflaging into characters. Like there was never a Rajkummar. There only ever was a Shahid, Vijay, Devrath, Pritam or Deepak. This is perhaps the most difficult part about being an actor, to play a part but give birth to a personality, and then nurture it without judgement.
We hope to see much more of this prodigal prince, as he breathes life into skeletons of words and imagination and sets free stories waiting to be told. 

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