As an actor, I gravitate towards complex, layered characters: Rakul Preet Singh | Telugu Movie News
For Rakul Preet Singh, Hyderabad is more than a city where her acting journey began. It is where she found her first film, first home and first success — experiences that continue to shape her relationship with the city. “I always joke that I’m half Telugu; my soul is half Telugu,” she says with a laugh, reflecting on the deep connection she continues to share with the place. The Sarrainodu actress, who was in the city recently, sat down with Hyderabad Times to talk about her love for the city, her desire to return to Telugu cinema with something challenging, and her excitement about her upcoming film Ramayana, in which she plays Surpanakha.
I’m in that phase in my career where I want to challenge myself and do something meaty and, it has to excite you to that core
Rakul Preet Singh
‘My next role in Telugu cinema has to challenge me’Though currently occupied with Hindi cinema, Rakul admits she is itching to return to Telugu films after a gap of nearly four years. “I would love to do something in Telugu. It’s been like a four-year gap now,” she says, adding, “I have been reading scripts, but whatever I do in Telugu, I want to do something that I haven’t done before. I don’t want to do what I have done before. It has to challenge me. It has to excite me. I want something really meaty and exciting, like the kind of roles I’m doing in Hindi now. So I’m waiting for that opportunity.”
In a still from Ramayana’s trailer
‘‘As an actor, I gravitate towards complex, layered characters’Rakul is venturing into entirely new territory, taking on the role of Surpanakha in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi. Far from being just a traditional antagonist,Ravana’s sister is the ultimate catalyst of the epic — a multifaceted character whose narrative is deeply layered, she says. “Every few years, you see a different interpretation and presentation of these characters, while keeping the essence rooted in the original text,” she says, adding, “As an actor, you only look at a character from that lens — that it’s a character that has layers, that has the possibility and ability to shine through the film.”While history often remembers her merely as a monstrous antagonist, it is Surpanakha’s inherent complexity that makes her so fascinating to portray, the actor explains. “She was apparently the most beautiful woman of Lanka. She had an ego, but then she was layered. As an actor, it’s fun to explore those layers.”The role introduced her to aspects of Surpanakha’s story that she had not known before. “There was a lot about her that I didn’t know. When I read the script, there was a lot about her life before and after that incident where her nose is chopped off by Lakshman,” she says, adding, “What happens in Surpanakha’s life and how does she meet, stumble upon Ram — there’s a lot which I didn’t know, which for me was new when I read the script, and which is why I liked it.”
Surpanakha’s inherent complexity is what makes her so fascinating to portray. She was apparently the most beautiful woman of Lanka. She had an ego, but then she was layered. As an actor, it’s fun to explore those layers
Rakul Preet Singh
‘There’s a lot I haven’t done yet, I want to experiment with different genres’Rakul wants to explore genres and characters she hasn’t attempted before. “I haven’t done an out-and-out love story. I haven’t done, like, a heart-wrenching love story. That’s something I’d love to do. I haven’t explored a historical character or done a period film either, and I would love to explore that space. I haven’t done horror. There’s a lot I haven’t done, and I would like to experiment with different genres,” she says.‘Hyderabad will always hold that special place for me’Having started working in Hyderabad in 2012, the actor spent nearly a decade closely associated with Telugu cinema. “Hyderabad will always hold a very special place in my heart because I started my journey there,” says Rakul. “Most of my firsts happened here — my first film, my first home and my first success. Hyderabad will always hold that special place for me,” she adds. Her professional journey here also extended beyond films, with her first business ventures taking shape in Hyderabad. “I think the city always turned out to be very lucky for me. I’m really happy that Hyderabad is a city that always gives back. There were so many firsts here,” she says.
