"I was getting lot of offers after 'Kai Po Che'. Earlier, I was getting 20 offers now I am getting 30-40 offers a month.
There are more options for me to choose from. But it does get difficult... Tough to say yes and no for a project. If a script excites me and challenges me as an actor then only I say yes to it," Rajkummar told PTI. The actor started his career with Dibakar Banerjee's 'Love Sex aur Dhokha' and garnered praise for his acting prowess in films like 'Kai Po Che', 'Shahid' and 'Queen'.
He recently won the national award for the best actor for 'Shahid', a biographical film on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was shot dead in 2010. However, Rao insists he has been choosy about the films he wants to do. "I want to associate myself with films that are good... Something that people will remember me for.
I don't look if the film comes from a small or a big banner, the script has to move me. I do not categorise a film as commercial or critically acclaimed one. I have been lucky that my films have done good business," says the 29-year-old actor. On how secure he feels after winning the national award, he says, "I always felt secured, I never felt insecure about anything. For me acting means a lot, I don't think too much about other things." Rao would next be seen in director Hansal Mehta's 'City Lights', scheduled to release on May 30.
"There is a special bond that we (Hansal and him) share. There was a natural bonding that happened when we first met. We understand each other a lot, we don't need words to express what we want as far as work is concerned," he said.
'City Lights' is about a couple who comes to Mumbai from Rajasthan for a better life and the various difficulties they face in the city. In real life also, Rao came from Gurgaon to the city of dreams - Mumbai - to become an actor. "I am from a small town Gurgaon and when I came to Mumbai it was very different for me. My difficulties were not that much as that of my character Deepak in the film.
My difficulty was to do that one film that will click... So, there was struggle for that," he said. Rao is paired opposite Patralekha in the film, which is a remake of British film 'Metro Manila' (2013). The film is presented by Fox Star Studios in association with Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt.
