From the shy Delhi girl who burst on to the scene in 2013 to the confident and witty lady that she is today – Rakul Preet has truly established herself as one of the leading stars in the Telugu film industry. The actress has enjoyed roaring success in 2016, with three blockbusters – Nannaku Prematho, Sarrainodu and now, Dhruva. And at the end of a long, gruelling year, the actress feels relief, joy and satisfaction.
“Now that it’s the end of the year, it’s generally the party time and if you’ve had a successful year, you can feel more relaxed. My friends tell me that now that I have worked so hard and achieved success, I deserve to party,” she beams. And perhaps that’s why the success of Dhruva will taste the sweetest, since it comes towards the end the year, almost summing up Rakul’s remarkable journey till date. Being a self-proclaimed film buff, Rakul had seen the original flick Thani Oruvan right when it had released last year.
“I had seen the film even before we knew Dhruva was going to be made,” she explains. While Rakul admits that comparisons with the original are only natural, she approached it like any other film. “Yoou don’t necessarily have to imitate an actor. Of course a certain standard is set and people will eventually end up comparing, that’s human nature. I treat it like a fresh film and I approach a scene the same way, whether it’s for a remake or a straight film,” she points out. In Dhruva, Rakul plays a woman who trains to be a police office.
And yet, most people associate her with the song ‘Pareshanura’, perhaps her most glamorous show till date. Rakul, however, isn’t concerned about being remembered more for the glamorous songs rather than her character in the film. “It’s not a film which is based on me being a police officer. It’s not a female-centric film.
I think most films in Indian cinema, not just in the south, whatever the girl is doing – unless it’s a female-centric film – we’re not really talking about the profession she’s in.” “If I’m doing a biopic or a female centric film and after working really hard, then if people start talking only about my looks, I’ll feel bad. But any other commercial film, you have a character but the film is not about you. So for me, it’s all about being associated with a good film,” Rakul observes.
And sure enough, she looks drop-dead gorgeous in ‘Pareshanura’, a song that has created a tremendous buzz among fans, largely because of Rakul. “I would’ve been disappointed if people didn’t notice ‘Pareshanura’ because I didn’t have any water when I was shooting for that song. Since the clothes were like that (revealing), even if you eat normal, healthy breakfast or if you drink water, your stomach will bloat a little bit and the camera will show it.
So I decided to stop drinking water at 9 am and then not have it till 6 pm. Whenever I felt thirsty, I would just take a drop to keep my tongue moist and for energy I would have almonds and watermelon. At 6 pm, after the shoot, I would eat properly,” she reveals.
The actress though advices young girls not to try similar measures to lose weight. “I was able to pull it off because I’m extremely fitness conscious, have a strict regime and I read a lot about fitness. If you take half-baked measures, it could be dangerous. I have always hated the word diet. Many people think that the key to looking good is to stop eating, but if you don’t eat, you will look weak and horrible,” the 26-year-old expresses. Perhaps one of the most disciplined actors in Tollywood, Rakul is always on time and shows remarkable sense of commitment. And perhaps that’s why filmmakers are willing to work with her again and again.
This will be her second film with both Surender and Ram Charan and the actress admits that she felt more comfortable this time around. “The second time, the comfort level is on a different level so the performance is enhanced. You know their timings, habits, style of filmmaking, etc. For me, when people like you enough to want to work with you again, that’s your real achievement,” Rakul points out. The fact that the actress has done highprofile from some of Tollywood’s leading stars, including NTR Jr and Mahesh Babu, Rakul has well and truly arrived in Tollywood. “I did not achieve stardom overnight,” she says, modestly.
“I don’t think I have changed a wee bit as a person from my first film. After 6 pm, I just disconnect myself from my profession. You will see me in casual clothes and I’m just normal,” Rakul shares. If 2016 was a hectic year, 2017 would be even busier for Rakul with a jam-packed schedule in Telugu and Tamil cinema. “I have five films on floor.
The first one with Mahesh Babu and AR Murgadoss, then Sai Dharam Tej- Gopichand Malineni, then Boyapati Srinu’s, a film with Naga Chaitanya and Kalyan Krishna and a Tamil film with Karthi,” she says, quite amused herself at the exhaustive list. And while she looks forward to 2017, she’s now gearing up to put her hair down and enjoy the new year. “I’m off to Goa to celebrate new year’s eve. I haven’t celebrate new year’s eve for the past four to five years so this time I didn’t want to miss out on it,” she signs off.