There is a certain ease about Rajkummar Rao. One that puts you at ease instantly. The Telegraph met the acclaimed actor at Roots, the chill pad on Chowringhee, when he was in town on Saturday to promote his Friday film Bheed. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, and costarring Bhumi Pednekar, the film has Covid-19 as its backdrop. While posing for The Telegraph, a few Bengali phrases rolled off Rajkummar’s tongue as effortlessly as his portrayal of characters on screen. Good to start our conversation on...

Who taught you Bengali first?

I love picking up languages. I am curious about it. So, it started I think from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India). I had a lot of Bengali friends from there. I did Bose (Bose: Dead/Alive), so I did my research for Bose. Before that, we started dating, Patralekhaa (Paul; wife) and I. Just by listening to her and talking with her family in Bengali....

So, do you have a favourite Bengali word?

Hyan! (Yes), Thik aache toh? (All ok?), Cholbe cholbe (It’ll work)! (Laughs)

Coming to Bheed, what is the message of the film?

Every film doesn’t need to have a message, but there is certainly an underlined message in the film, but it’s not preachy, how Anubhav (Sinha) Sir’s films are. They always have a social commentary, but I think everyone will pick their own message. It’s talking about a lot of things. The setup is corona, Covid times, but it’s way more than that. It’s about people. It’s a human story.

When did you shoot this?

We shot this during Covid, just right after the second lockdown. It was tough of course, not easy to shoot during those times, following the protocols and guidelines. We shot almost 1,000 people every day. The extras you see in the film are all real people.

There is of course the mental trauma and the physical exhaustion. Was this the most challenging then?

It was very challenging, but luckily the kind of environment Anubhav sir creates on the sets is lighthearted. Somewhere he knows that it should not take any mental toll on our health. So, he keeps people entertained... singing together, ordering food for everyone.... So, as an actor, while performing those scenes was tough, offset it was a lot of fun. We got really close while making the film and now he is somebody I would call just to have a chat, just to ask him: ‘Aur, Sir kya ho raha hai?!’ (Laughs) He is so knowledgeable and well-read. It’s always a good conversation with him.

We were all watching the news, but was the awareness for you more because you were in the midst of it?

We all clearly remember those visuals of the migrant workers walking back or cycling to their respective places and of course we all felt horrible about it, but we don’t know what happened to them after that. Whether they could make it to their houses or if they did, what happened to them because borders were shut. This is what I got to know through the film, as to what exactly happened to them.

Now that you’ve seen the final film, is it traumatic to revisit those times even now?

I think it is traumatic for everyone on a global level. Each and every country faced similar problems. We don’t want that repeated ever. You are still wearing a mask... that scare has just seeped in.

What has changed for you fundamentally in these three years?

The only thing that has changed in my career choices is that I am only going to do films that excite me. It started with Badhaai Do and then Monica, O My Darling and then whatever I am doing next — Guns & Gulaabs, Stree, Mr. And Mrs. Mahi. These are the films where I believe in the story and makers. I am only going to do such films, not caring about you know, how you do so many calculations and there are a lot of people to tell you that you should do this film because this is that one film that will do numbers and especially now, no one knows what film will do what numbers. At least, I want to be happy after a day’s work, that I did something which I believed in, which helped me grow as an actor and understand myself better.

Were numbers ever a consideration?

They never were. The kind of films I have done, be it Stree or Bareilly Ki Barfi or Newton or so many others, we were never making those films keeping a number in mind. It was a miracle that it happened. I think art is for life. And, honestly, I am here to create art. I am not here as a businessman. I’d rather have done something else if I just wanted to do business. I am here to do films which people will talk about for several decades. None of us would know what were The Godfather’s box-office figures, but we still watch it. Like The Whale, you don’t know what numbers it did in Hollywood, but look at the film and Brendan Fraser’s performance (which won him an Oscar for best acting). For me, the purity of it is way more important, but having said that, I also keep in mind that my producer should not lose money. So, we keep the economics right of the film. They make their margins and profits so that we can keep making such films.

You’ve had a different trajectory in Hindi films. It seems only spectacle films are working at the theatres. Do you see this as a shift or a phase?

I am very happy for Pathaan that it worked wonders at the box office, let me first say that. I love Shah Rukh Khan sir immensely. I think this is a phase but by that I don’t mean larger-than-life films won’t work, but how pre-Covid, mediumbudget drama films were also working and doing respectable numbers, that has shifted a little bit I guess, but that needs to come back. We have to tell good stories too. The big canvas films will always be there, but I feel these films should also be there. I am sure there is an audience for that. We just need stronger word of mouth and reach out to more people.

What do you think people want to see?

It can’t be a mundane story and there has to be something more to it. I am pretty sure people will come back. Kantara is such a small-budget film, but it did great numbers at the box office because of word of mouth. We need to make films which are unique, saying something which is different and people have to connect with those stories.

Does it then put pressure on you because you are among the flagbearers of independent cinema, telling our stories?

I have stopped taking any kind of pressure. As long as my producers are happy and making their profits, I am happy. Of course, there’ll be Stree 2 and other films which are not always intense dramas. I am not saying I don’t want to do comedies. I love playing characters which are funny, but not for any other reason.

What are you watching right now?

I am finishing all the Oscar films...

Did you get your predictions right?

I was really rooting for Brendan Fraser. He is our childhood hero and I don’t know when he would get this chance again... coming so close and not winning it. I watch it every year, my ritual every year. I would get up at 5.30am and watch it. This happened with Leo (Leonardo DiCaprio) when he was nominated for The Wolf of Wall Street (2014) and he didn’t win. I felt so bad. He won it for The Revenant (2016). And, we got two Oscars [The Elephant Whisperers in Documentary Short Film and Naatu Naatu in Music (Original Song) categories] which is crazy, so good. (Smiled broadly)