Payal Rajput is one the few actors who’s had a hit on her debut. After RX100 released, Payal Rajput had a surge of followers telling her to work with their favourite heroes. She didn’t have a strategy to take her career forward. “I just listen to everybody’s advice, but discuss with my parents and take a call accordingly. We end up getting confused if we listen to too many opinions,” says Payal who’s excited about her forthcoming film Venky Mama with Venkatesh.
Life has indeed changed after RX100 . She admits earlier she yearned for a good project, she didn’t want to stay idle at home; now she waits for the time she can just relax. Her search for projects led her to the role of Jayasudha in NTR: Kathanayakudu . Despite knowing she’d have only two scenes, Payal took it up because she wanted to be part of a big project.
Though there are no regrets when the film tanked, there is a whisper that she declined to work with Balakrishna in her next project being directed by KS Ravi Kumar. “I don’t do films when I don’t like the script, it has nothing to do with a star or a debutant,” she remarks and moves on to talk about RDX Love .
Payal Rajput 
RDX Love is being compared with RX100 but we learn that it isn’t a sequel; it is an entirely different genre. She adds, “I espouse a social cause. In the story, the heroine adopts a village and it is about her journey. I know the first poster design that released has got a lot of attention; it has the hero latching onto my leg and people didn’t know what to infer from that. It is a romantic movie but romance is just a part of it. It is a female centric film. The title is about a bomb that will explode. People have something in their mind and as title is similar to RX100, they think the similar title is lucky for the heroine.” The film is produced by C Kalyan, Bhanu Shankar is the director and Tejas Kancherla plays the lead. Cinematography is handled by Ram Prasad.
Currently she’s enjoying every moment of shooting for Venky Mama, a Suresh Productions’ project directed by KS Ravindra . Set in the army background, Payal plays the role of a teacher. Venkatesh in the film is an ageing man who doesn’t want to get married but when this girl comes into the village, love blooms. Payal’s next is a Vi Anand film titled Disco Raja starring Ravi Teja. “Whatever interests me I will take it up. I did a small budget film initially with a newcomer. RDX Love doesn’t have a popular hero either and on the other side I am working with stars. I also did an item song in Sita . My next is Angel , a horror-comedy in Tamil. I am listening to Bollywood scripts too but nothing interesting is coming up.”
Meanwhile, Payal is enjoying her stint in Telugu films and loves the way the industry treats her. Back home, she says, people still can’t believe she made it here and are happy.
“The impact of the character Indu that I played in RX100 is still strong. My next film will change my image. I play a positive role and my fans will approve,” she says.
Published - August 21, 2019 02:45 pm IST
