I loved and rewatched Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana only for Rajkummar Rao’s performance. He is one of my favourite actors. I liked him in Bareilly Ki Barfi, the sari draping scene is my favourite. He was awesome in Ludo as well. RR is one of the best natural actors who can easily portray any character. He was awesome in Stree as well. (My top 3 Rajkummar Rao performances are... August 9)

Tushali Roy

I’ll pick Aligarh for no one could pull it off except Rajkummar Rao... such brilliance in enacting every scene was not easy. In Trapped, his top-notch acting took me along in his journey and in the end, I felt out of breath and forgot that I was in an air-conditioned room. I also want to talk about Roohi where his pronunciation and accent were absolutely fantastic. He just gets into the skin of the character and leaves people in awe.

Tanima Kundu

In Bareilly Ki Barfi, he stole the show with his amazing performance as Pritam Vidrohi. The transformation that he shows in the character, from a simple person to a tough man is delightfully amazing! Trapped is a survival film. Rajkummar had minimum dialogues but did a stupendous job with his expressions. Badhaai Do is an adorable comedy drama. Rao is once again terrific as Shardul, playing him as someone with dignity and vulnerability.

Nili Ghosh

Rajkummar’s Pritam Vidrohi in Bareilly Ki Barfi is a meek and simple man who is compelled by Chirag (Ayushmann Khurrana) to be rude and intimidating. He excelled in portraying both and balanced the duality well. In the 2018 horror-comedy Stree, Rajkummar aced the character of Vicky, a ladies’ tailor. In Hum Do Humare Do, Rajkummar portrayed an orphan who is a successful entrepreneur in the IT sector. I truly loved how he bonded with his fake parents and decided not to abandon them till the end.

Sikrity Ghosh

The first character I would like to talk about is Vicky from Stree. Through his wonderful comic timing and acting, he brought out the hilarious side of the character who is also a fearless tailor. The next one is Shaurya from Trapped where he displayed extraordinary acting talent with the least amount of dialogue. My third pick is of the terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in Omerta, a participant in the 1994 kidnapping of four foreign nationals.

Purbasha Palit

My top three favourite characters played by Rajkummar Rao are Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh from Omerta, Shahid Azmi from Shahid and Shardul in Badhaai Do. In Omerta, the powerhouse performer touched all the right chords and delivered a power-packed drama. His performance in Shahid is counted among the finest seen in recent years. Based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, the film earned the actor his first National Award. In order to understand and get into the skin of his character, the actor spent time with Shahid’s family before going on the floors. Rao brought the subject of ‘lavender marriage’ to the screen with Badhaai Do. A balanced mix of entertainment and realistic content, he left an everlasting impression with his emotional sequences with Bhumi Pednekar. Rao earned massive appreciation for his authentic portrayal of a gay police officer.

Roshni Ojha

Among his innumerable films, the most worthy of being mentioned is Kai Po Che! In each and every scene, he proved his originality and caught the audience’s attention. The next film dear to my heart is Stree. I have watched it numerous times just to see his mind-blowing performance. His comic timing is absolutely fantastic. None but Rao could have done justice to this role. The next film where I was stunned to watch him was Trapped. Never did I feel that it was just acting; so genuine, spontaneous and realistic was his portrayal of the terror and distress of a trapped person.

Kakali Mukherjee

Rajkummar Rao is known primarily for his serious acting, but I started appreciating his performances when I watched him in light-hearted roles. Bareilly Ki Barfi, Stree and Badhaai Do are my top three picks.

Ishani Sen

The film where I first enjoyed his performance thoroughly was Stree. The way he portrayed the character of Vicky, a man from a small town, his accent, being a lover boy, small fights and his comic timing were marvellous. Then I watched Trapped where he was absolutely mind-blowing and he stole the one-man show. Badhaai Do focuses on homosexuality and tries to generate acceptance for the community. I must mention his excellent performance in Newton where he played the role of a government official conducting an election in a politically-sensitive area.

Pallabi Chatterjee

To shortlist Rajkummar Rao’s greatest performances is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. The first name that comes to mind is Aligarh where he plays a spirited young journalist, Deepu Sebastian. Rao aptly brings out the anguish of an aspiring journalist who is eager to provide relief to a wronged man and restore his glory. In Trapped, he gets locked in his new, empty apartment. We are filled with empathy for his plight. The entire movie rests on his able shoulders. Badhaai Do is another movie that testifies to Rao’s prowess as an actor. He essays the role of a gay man with aplomb. Rao’s performance packs quite a punch as he navigates through rough terrain to champion the cause of the homosexual community. With his throwaway comic timing, he leaves us in splits when he asks a girl her ‘title’ and gets ‘Miss’ for an answer.

Suparna Ghosh

Rajkummar Rao is the type of actor who, with his simple and straightforward performance, can draw an audience to the theatre for a movie like Newton, based on free and fair elections in a Naxalite area. He is also good in romantic commercial movies like Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. His transformation from an ordinary government clerk to a rock-solid IAS officer is impressive. He added romance, pity and hatred all in one character and performed superbly. On a different note, he is also perfect as a gay police officer in Badhaai Do. He slips effortlessly into the role of a person who suppresses his emotions for family and society.

Sarbani Banerjee

Trapped is a mesmerising solo act that hardly any other actor could have pulled off. Playing a character pushed to the very brink of bare existence, Rao portrays the extremes of hunger, thirst, fear, hopelessness, resilience and resourcefulness. My favourite thespian feat is the way his voice goes hoarse as he cries out for help in vain. Shaurya’s entrapment in the building becomes a metaphor for his entrapment in a penurious life cycle that does not allow him to marry the woman he loves. Stree shows Rao in his elements, as a small-town ‘dil ka darzi’ who manages to sew up even a ghost’s torn heart. His natural comic acumen perfectly fits the plot of this hilarious horror comedy.

For Badhaai Do, Rao had to transform his physique to a considerable extent. Casting off his skinny avatar, he plays a muscular gay cop who is still closeted. The cop helps a closeted lesbian deal with a stalker and eventually convinces her to marry him so that they are both relieved of familial pressure. The lavender marriage works fine at first, but the film soon turns into a coming-out story for the two queer protagonists.

Dhee Sankar