Rajkummar Rao Opens Up About His 'Duty' Towards Real-life Characters He Plays Onscreen

Rajkummar Rao is currently gearing up for his upcoming film titled Srikanth. In the film, he will play the role of the visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla. In a recent interview with PTI, the actor said there is a “duty” towards the real-life character he plays on screen.

Rajkummar Rao on playing real-life characters onscreen

In Srikanth, Rao essays the role of the titular industrialist who pursued his dreams despite his visual impairment, ultimately founding Bollant Industries. Directed by Tushar Hiranandani, the film will hit the screens on May 10. Talking about his duty towards real-life characters, he said, "In biopics, you're portraying a real-life character. Some people know that character, if not all. So, there's always that comparison. If you hit it right, you'll get a lot of love because people would be like, ‘Wow, he's actually recreated the same person for us on screen'."

He further added, "But if we hit it wrong, then there's a big problem. It's not a responsibility, but there's some duty towards the person whose life you're portraying because he has his people around who know him for such a long time. So, there's some kind of duty towards his life."

Rajkummar Rao was the first choice for Srikanth

Rajkummar Rao was Hiranandani's first choice to play the lead role in Srikanth and the actor said he was a bit scared initially to take up the role. "I love challenges. And, something that scares me excites me even more. And 'Srikanth' did that to me. I've never played a visually impaired man before. I didn't know if I would be able to do it." "But that's the fun where you push yourself out of your comfort zone. There was so much research that had to be done. Whenever I get an opportunity like that, I totally cherish it," Rao said. The Gurugram-born actor said he wasn't well versed with Bolla's life story until Hiranandani reached out to him for the film.

(With inputs from PTI)