The rise of Rakul Preet Singh

Post her South conquests, the actor is ready to take on Bollywood. After five back-to-back releases last year, she has started 2023 with a bang

- Ananya Ghosh

With five big movies, Attack, Runway34, Cuttputlli, Doctor G, and Thank God, Rakul Preet Singh was probably the actor with most number of Bollywood releases in 2022, and now brings this momentum into 2023. In Chhatriwali- a movie aimed at starting conversations around important topics such as sex education and female reproductive health she has the starring role. As the protagonist, Sanya Dhingra, a chemistry graduate who reluctantly takes up a job in a condom factory, she gives a buoyant but balanced performance, one that has helped the actor, who had made her Bollywood debut in 2014 with Yaariyan, firmly establish herself as one of the most promising actresses of Hindi cinema.

"Irrespective of the box office, I am very happy and proud of each film. These gave me a lot of credibility. Cuttputlli became one of the most-watched movies of the year on OTT," says the actor still basking in the success of her recent release. However, she insists that the back-to-back releases were not planned out. "Honestly, releases are the last things that are in an actor's hand. I was shooting in and out of the pandemic, some films were signed before the pandemic, some were post. It just so happened that the theatres opened properly in April and all the films just started releasing."

But is it a bit nerve wracking to be finally helming her first Hindi film? "I am a fauji's daughter and since very early on, I was taught not to get bogged down by circumstances. I am not somebody who feels pressurised. Whether I am doing a special appearance which is a one-day job, or I have a full-fledged role, I work towards every scene the same way. My agenda is to always do things up to the best of my abilities because even if it is a small role, it will be there forever for the audiences to see," says Rakul.