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IANS Exclusive: Mumbai, Maharashtra: After playing negetive roles in several previous films, Rajkummar Rao plays a dangerous gangster role in the upcoming film Maalik. The recently released trailer created a lot of buzz among the audience. Maalik, directed by Pulkit, produced by Kumar Taurani and Jay Shewakramani under the banner of Tips Films and Northern Lights Films. The film will release in theatres on July 11, 2025.
#RajkummarRao #Maalik #PulkitDirector #TipsFilms #ManushiChiller
#RajkummarRao #Maalik #PulkitDirector #TipsFilms #ManushiChiller
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00:00Welcome to INS and
00:02Congratulations for such a you know massive success of the trailer.
00:07It has been liked by a lot by many.
00:10My first question is to you Rajkumar.
00:14When actors say that we have become very choosy because you know we want just to do one or two films in one year.
00:24How did you manage all the films?
00:28I don't know. I think it just happened.
00:31I didn't plan that way to be honest.
00:34It just coincidence that it happened.
00:37But this year of course Bhool Chukmav released and now Malik is coming and there will be Toaster I guess this year itself.
00:43But apart from that no there will be only three films this year.
00:46But I don't plan it.
00:48I go with my gut feeling if I like a script if I like the maker and the team attached with that script and I say yes to it.
00:55Then of course and also I do one film at a time.
00:58That is something I cannot change.
00:59I have to finish one film take a break then move on to the next one.
01:02But yeah even I plan this every year that I'm going to do less work.
01:07But then I get scripts like Malik or Shree Khan and I say I have to do this.
01:12Because we all are greedy as actors right we want to work in the best scripts available.
01:19So mentally you do your maths you know before you pick a film that this year okay I am going to do this film so it is going to take one month or three months like what I understand.
01:30Of course dates wise you have to manage that there are only these many dates available in a year.
01:39So you make that calendar mental note that okay this film is asking for four months or two months then I can have one month break then maybe I can finish this one in three months.
01:47So that mental calculation is there.
01:50Manushi coming to you you have mostly done glamorous role till now and this is a de-glam look role so did you take any reference from earlier you know earlier heroines or friends or like something.
02:04I don't think I have necessarily only done glamorous roles but this is a very different role a very different type of de-glam.
02:09This is the most rooted role I would say.
02:11Yeah rooted role because even my first film even though she was a princess my director didn't want it to be a very glamorous version of a glamorized version of a princess.
02:19But anyway coming to this I don't think there was any reference that was taken.
02:25Because this was a very personal perspective for our director who wrote a story and thought about characters.
02:37So I don't think we have no reference in fact our look test first we were supposed to be there for three hours.
02:44It went on for eight nine hours because we were also trying different things seeing how we can create that character.
02:49So it was it was more of a creative process less of like referencing and you know kind of taking inspiration from what's already been done.
02:58I want to understand from your perspective I want to know about you also and a general question also.
03:04But does actress they feel conscious when they do this kind of roles de-glam roles.
03:10Surprisingly it's actually liberating to do something like that.
03:14Because when you perform the film is a very technical it's a very technical process you know the light hai.
03:21You know a lot of people you have to hit that particular mark and you have to be standing at that particular angle.
03:27So here there was a lot more freedom in that sense and I actually do not enjoy when I mean my team is not going to like this.
03:35But when people keep coming and doing touch up.
03:37So I think I quite enjoy it not being disturbed you know while we were performing.
03:41So I actually found it quite more joyful and more liberating to not worry about how you are looking.
03:49Because when you set a look then you are very conscious of that you look right in every frame or all the time.
03:58So you don't want to have that in the back of your head when you are performing.
04:01You want to think more about your performance .
04:04And what about the language-
04:05Unless it's a very vain character who is thinking about how they are looking all the time.
04:08So this time you are doing a film which narrates story of you know a Hindi heartland.
04:14Ilahabad.
04:15And so I am sure you must be having a language coach.
04:18but how long did it take to learn that kind of
04:27Five years, I am kidding.
04:32So Hindi, now this was a dialect.
04:35So Hindi because I grew up in the north, Hindi was never a problem.
04:40But that little bit of dialect I practiced a lot with the director.
04:46He has seen that world a lot more than I have.
04:49Because we also didn't want it to seem very caricaturish,
04:53trying very hard to be Eastern, UP.
04:56It had to be very real and authentic.
04:58So I think that little bit, I mean the director and I used to discuss,
05:03and we also wanted to make it relatable.
05:05So you can't go in that direction,
05:08that you don't understand what you're doing.
05:11So that happened and on set everyone starts speaking in that language.
05:15And then it's easier to catch that.
05:24Coming back to, you know, again,
05:26Ittne sari youngsters ki film aati hai, web and theater.
05:31What is so different about this Malik,
05:34jo apko itna attractive lagai and you, you know, agreed to do this?
05:38It's very rooted.
05:39It's very realistic in nature.
05:41What's happening on screen is very much believable.
05:44Though we are of course, like my character Malik is hanging four people with bare hands.
05:51But it's still very believable.
05:53Because the emotional arc of the emotional drama of this story is very, very strong.
05:59So everything that you'll see on screen is something that you would believe in.
06:03Of course, the style is there.
06:04The swag is there.
06:05There's great background score here.
06:07Great action pieces.
06:08But more than that, I think the story itself is beautifully written by Pulket, who is also our director.
06:15Okay.
06:16So when we talk about Malik, the word Malik, it is both positive and negative.
06:21So Malik is somebody, jo apko, you know, basically ek tara se dominate karta hai, but dominance is seen in both ways.
06:30It is also positive, also negative.
06:32Yeah.
06:33If I ask both of you, in the film industry, I know I'm not asking you to take names,
06:39but have you experienced this positive Malikana hak and negative, the dominance?
06:45When I started out, of course, back in 2010, everybody was like Malik for me.
06:56You know, like, because everybody was senior, they were here way before me.
07:02But they all treated me with a lot of love and respect.
07:06In between, of course, I've had couple of experiences where maybe one or two where I felt little,
07:12like how maybe they saved the whole thing up.
07:16No, no, outsider, insider, where I was made to feel like an outsider.
07:20That, you know, okay, this is our world and I want this particular actor for this film.
07:24Though, yeah, you almost signed the film, but no.
07:27Now this man wants to do it, so you're not doing it.
07:30So that happens, but that's okay.
07:32I take it with a pinch of salt and nothing else.
07:34I forget about it.
07:35But apart from that, no, nobody has ever made me feel like, you know, that I'm your Malik.
07:41Yes.
07:42In a good way or in a bad way both.
07:45I think everybody is a thorough professional here and everybody, it's a business model as well.
07:51So if they need you, no matter where you are in life, they will reach out to you because they need you.
07:56If they don't need you, no matter how many times you reach out to them, they don't need you.
08:01Same question goes to you.
08:03I feel someone can only become your Malik if you allow them to.
08:08Otherwise, I mean, not really.
08:11Of course, every film you work, you work in, I would say the producer is the Malik or maybe you're in the hands of the director.
08:19So they all have a certain influence when you're working with them.
08:23But I'd say that in the larger scheme of things, you have to make those decisions.
08:30You have to decide that you want to take your career in which direction you want to take your career.
08:34If you keep someone in a driving seat, then it will not be their career.
08:40And you'll never be able to really enjoy that growth.
08:44So that's what I believe.
08:45I said, you know, that whole concept of a larger Malik, I don't really believe in.
08:50There are people who might have made me feel not so good.
08:54But as long as I don't give them the power to not make me feel good, I don't think it really matters.
08:59How does this happen?
09:00You're saying I don't give them power.
09:01But you know, as a human being, when I think, you know, especially when I was younger.
09:06So anyone who used to speak bad about me, I'm saying this from my perspective or from younger people.
09:13Somebody who is in 20s or early 30s.
09:15So this person is trying to make me feel lesser.
09:20I think, of course, it gets easier with experience.
09:25And also with age.
09:27We are with age and experience.
09:29And I maybe got to experience that very early in my life.
09:32But I'd say that every time I find myself in such a situation, I realize that externally we are a reflection of who we are internally.
09:42And if someone is making me feel a certain way, that means they feel about themselves in that certain way.
09:47So maybe I try to look at it from a certain sense of empathy and compassion.
09:52And everything you don't have to absorb.
09:57Some things you have to also reject.
09:59And what really helps is having the right people around you.
10:02Agar aapko panch log yeh bol rehen ki you're not good enough.
10:05You should have five people who are telling you, no, no, you're great.
10:08And that way I've been blessed.
10:10Because I live with my family.
10:12And I've always chosen to live with my parents.
10:14Even when I moved to Mumbai.
10:16You know, when I started, when I knew I was going to start working in films.
10:20I pretty much made my parents move to Mumbai as well.
10:24So they shifted base.
10:25Now they work in Mumbai.
10:26So having your people, having those people who believe in you, keeping them really close to you.
10:31Especially when you weren't a nobody.
10:33An emotional support.
10:34That really matters a lot.
10:35People who unconditionally want for you to do well.
10:37And your parents will always be those people in your life.
10:40Of course, it's very natural.
10:42You know, like it happens today also.
10:44You will read.
10:45I've seen people.
10:46I've seen friends.
10:47There will be 200 good comments about you.
10:49But there'll be that one negative comment.
10:52And your whole focus would shift only towards that one negative comment.
10:55Very anxious.
10:56You get very anxious.
10:57It's very natural.
10:58It's very human to feel that way.
10:59But I tell them, why don't you focus on those 200 people who are giving you so much of love?
11:04So I think it's an exercise.
11:05It's a training that you have to train your mind to focus on good things.
11:09It's a time-consuming process.
11:11Yeah.
11:12And sometimes I think it's okay to not even read comments.
11:14Why do you want to know what every person thinks about you?
11:17Yes.
11:18That's the best way of course.
11:19But you could close the comment section also.
11:21So, and talking about President Chief now.
11:23I mean, he's a superstar of Bengali Salim.
11:24How was your experience working on him?
11:26Very well.
11:27I've known him for a very long time now.
11:28Okay.
11:29And I'm very happy that, you know, I got a chance to work with him in Malik.
11:32And he's on a fab job.
11:33Like, I don't know how he is, like at this, after working in for so many years,
11:38he's still so hungry as an actor.
11:41He's still so greedy, so committed to his work, which is very inspiring.
11:46And he's added a lot in this character.
11:48So, it's a fabulous character for him.
11:50And he has done such a wonderful job in the film with this character.
11:54Your wife is Bengali and I think you know, because yesterday I heard that you were translating,
11:59you know, Bengali to Hindi.
12:02So, how much have you followed Bengali cinema?
12:05Because they are culturally so rich.
12:06I have, I've followed it a lot.
12:07Especially the initial, you know, Bengali cinema when Ray and Ghatak were making films.
12:14So, I've watched most of their films, I'm sure.
12:18And I think there was a time when Bengali cinema was at, they were making the best films ever in this country.
12:24Even in Bollywood, they were like in 40s, 50s.
12:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:27Exactly, exactly.
12:28That was great cinema happening at that time in Bengal.
12:31I'm sure now also there are some really interesting filmmakers.
12:35But now I haven't seen too much of, to be honest, not many Bengali films in recent times.
12:41Last I saw was Labour of Love, which I absolutely loved by Aditya Vikram Sen Gupta.
12:48But yeah, I think, of course, I feel very closely, I feel very close with the whole culture in Bengal.
12:55Because I keep going back to, you know, Patra's house back in Shilong and there are a lot of Bengalis around me.
13:02Otherwise, also in life.
13:03So, yeah.
13:04We have just few minutes left.
13:06Manushi, aaj kal aapne dekha ho ga, because media mein, you know, actresses ke beauty treatment ko lege kaapi debate chal raha hai.
13:14I want to understand from your point of view, how important is it for actresses?
13:18Because if we talk about actresses of 50s, 60s, 70s, these things were not available at that time.
13:26Still, you know, they transitioned from, you know, heroines to mother and all kind of characters.
13:33Kitna zaruri ho ga hai, aaj kal I just want to understand from you.
13:37You know, I'd say I come from a medical background and that's a very big misconception ki ye recent phenomenon hai, aasa nahi hai.
13:43These, maybe today we have more advanced technology, but all of this has been around for centuries.
13:51If you talk about cosmetology and it's a very personal choice.
13:54It's not the requirement of a particular profession, but if it makes you feel good, you should go ahead and do it.
13:59It's your personal choice.
14:00No one's allowed to give you an opinion on that.
14:03And if you don't want to do it, then no one should be forcing you to do it.
14:06I want to know how important it is.
14:07And when actors don't talk about it, they don't want to stop politically correct.
14:16So, I think aap jis mudde ke baare me bhoat strongly feel kerte hain, aap ko zarur bolna chahiye.
14:21And Zaru niya ki har mudde pe bholna hai.
14:24And if you don't put pressure on social media, then you don't feel that mudde ke baare me bhoat thoda ajeef sa hai ye.
14:32Like I love my country.
14:34I love my country immensely.
14:36But kya woh mujhe, or otherwise if not even country, or for anything.
14:40Like kahi kuch hota hai, koi haatsha hota hai, of course mujhe bhoat bhoat bhoat lagta hai.
14:44Especially as actors, we are very very sensitive people.
14:47Mujhe bhoat bhoat bhoat bhoat lagta hai.
14:49Par kya agar minne social media apne nahi daala hai, to ye tahe karayega ke nahi, isko bura nahi laga hai.
14:54To social media kapse woh ek platform ban gaya ke yaa daalo, to aapko bura laga hai.
15:00Aapne nahi daala, aray inko toh kuch samaj hi nahi, inko toh kuch feeling hi nahi hai.
15:03Toh ye, kisne, I don't know, ye tahe kiya hai, kya social media apne daalo bhaiya,
15:07Tabhi aap, aapko feel hoti hai, cheez evanah nahi hoti hai.
15:10Jho luk social media apne nahi hai, jho ki bhoat saray loog nahi hai,
15:13I'm sure, is desh me, is dunia mein.
15:15Kya unko bura nahi lagta hai, unko bhi lagta hai.
15:16Kya unko aatcha nahi lagta hai, unko bhi lagta hai.
15:18Kya unko aatcha nahi lagta hai, unko bhi aatcha lagta hai.
15:19Toh, kya social media ka joh pressure aagaya hai,
15:21kya isi pere daalo tab tahe hooga.
15:23I don't know kisne start kiya.
15:25I think it's a very strange phenomena.
15:28Even for a very basic thing like birthday.
15:32Kya aapne birthday joh hai social story nahi daali aapne hamari.
15:36Toh yeh bhoat hi ajeeb si baat hai.
15:38Kya haa, it's okay nahi daali.
15:39Par message kiya na, woh zyadha imporant hai na.
15:41Social media.
15:42Haa, wish karna imporant.
15:44Social media apik dunia ko dikhane ke liye thodi hai.
15:47Kuch cheez hai apne bhi hoate hai.
15:49Kya humko, bese me ne ka, actors toh aur zyada sensitive hotte hai.
15:52Humko toh,
15:53mein especially personally,
15:55mucche bhout duch hota hai cheezo ho gu lekar.
15:57Like of course hum log isko kaat dhenge,
15:59but I've cried when I saw those airplane crash ke visuals.
16:03Ghaadi me athe, hum log shoot kare te honne no.
16:05Ja bae haa.
16:07Par kya woh social media belik na ziruri hai,
16:09ka apata hai, yeh dab dekhha menea or min bhout roya.
16:11Nahhi.
16:12Ho personal ek feeling hai,
16:13joh hao hoti hai, nahi hoti hai.
16:14I think too much of,
16:16of trying to put it on social media might also take away the sensitivity.
16:20Yeah, exactly.
16:21Anyways, yeah, it was for a bad cheat, yeah.
16:23And before we wrap up, what do you want to say to your film and to your audience?
16:29What do you want to say to your film on the 11th of July, we are here to take you to the
16:32theaters, and we have made a great film for you for you.
16:37And come to the theater, with your friends, with your girlfriend, with your boyfriend,
16:41you will have a lot of fun because we are taking a different time.
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