You're as good as your films, directors, says Rajkummar Rao

Mumbai: Having done some path-breaking yet entertaining films like Kai Po Che!, Shahid, Queen, Aligarh, Newton and Bareilly Ki Barfi, actor Rajkummar Rao, who has carved a niche for himself in just eight years, believes an actor's output has a lot to do with a film and its director.

Rajkummar has often been compared to Bollywood veterans like Dilip Kumar and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

Asked how he feels about being compared to them, Rajkummar told IANS here: "It's a huge honour. I feel overwhelmed and there is a lot of gratitude because I am an outsider, there was no one waiting for me here. I think God has been kind and I feel lucky that I got a chance to work with some incredible filmmakers because you are as good as your films and directors."

Sporting an all white kurta and pyjama paired with sneakers, Rajkummar was at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018, where he walked the ramp as the showstopper for designer Rajesh Pratap Singh's collection 'Welcome To The Jungle'. He was accompanied by his actress and lady love Patralekha.

Rajkummar's filmography has seen him work in movies as different as chalk and cheese. Be it the anthology Love Sex Our Dhokha, a horror film Ragini MMS 2, a buddy drama film Kai Po Che!, a biographical drama Aligarh, a movie on survival Trapped or be it the commercial entertainers like Bareilly Ki Barfi and Fanney Khan.

The 33-year-old says he makes sure not to repeat himself.

"I try and be different with all my characters and even if they are not different, I try to bring in something different with all these characters. For 'Newton', I changed my look, I made it (the hair) curly, and I kept doing that blinking thing for 'Bose' and now 'Stree' is coming and that is different too. That's the fun part for me as an actor when you can offer something new to your audience. It's very exciting for me," he said.

Talking about how all his films have a touch of realism, Rajkummar said: "I love watching realistic cinema... I try and be honest to my character."

The actor is happy that Indian cinema is in a good space now.

"I am so glad that our characters are becoming so real and are relatable. Our audience has definitely evolved... There is so much of access to international cinema now, so they expect somewhere the same quality and I am glad that we have these phenomenal filmmakers who are pushing the boundaries and writing such amazing characters for us," he said.