After the release of RX 100 , its heroine Payal Rajput is nowhere to be seen in Hyderabad. She explains she is back in Punjab wrapping up her two Punjabi projects and is heading to Canada for a shoot. She is missing the fun here; her debut film RX100 has been declared a blockbuster and as reports of the BO collections pour in, her phone has not stopped ringing. Payal cannot conceal her excitement though. “The response I am getting is magical. They are promoting the film without me but everyone is enquiring about me because Indu, the character I played is the highlight of the film. I tried to be there for a major part of the promotion but had to return due to prior commitments.”
Payal admits that she was a bit nervous playing that role; with its grey shades, it was a risky character to portray. Taking up a seemingly negative role in a debut film is indeed a courageous decision. Also the few steamy scenes in the film — though important to the script — did not convey a positive signal in the promos. Didn’t her parents object to her taking up such a role? Payal recollects, “The character is bold and beautiful and the last 40 minutes throws up a surprise. The film begins normally and shows her as a bubbly and a beautiful girl but then it turns to how an RX100 becomes a part of her journey. True colours of my character come to the fore towards the end. My mom came to see the film and she did not have a problem with my kissing scenes.”
Payal’s earlier roles, in Punjabi movies, had mostly been of a shy, introvert girl, so her fans there are unable to come to terms with her playing a bold role. Ask her how she managed such intimate scenes in her first Telugu film, she cites a few reasons. “First, yes…the Punjabi audience is saying they hated what I did in the film but loved my performance. Second, I was getting a lot of offers but I wanted to wait for something exciting, not a run-of-the-mill role. Finally this film happened which is something different.”
Payal adds, “Since childhood I wanted to become an actor, but I was shy and timid. I couldn’t even communicate properly. But all that changed after I went to the college. I realised I loved the camera and once I’m in front of it nothing matters.”
Is the actor open to repeat her steamy act in her next few films too? The response is clichéd but makes sense. “If the script demands it and if the director says that if without this scene the film won’t work, I might agree. Also please note, I am more than kisses. I am a performer, give me a good role and I will kill it. May be because I am from the north I have far less inhibitions but I am a thorough professional. If the director is very clear about what he wants and says this girl needs to do this. I would do it,” she says.
Payal analyses Indu’s character in the film from a modern perspective: girls these days are quite smart and shrewd, many of them can be dominating and more cunning than men. One finds such people in all places. “In one of my scenes with Rao Ramesh, people were hooting, laughing, screaming in the theatre. Rao Ramesh, my father in the story scolds me and her response draws the noise. Indu has a use-and-throw policy, just to have fun, she plays with men. In real life I can’t be an Indu, if I love someone I will go to any extent. They just want to enjoy and move on. This is not the case with everyone. If you are stuck with a person like Siva, the hero in the film, he will kill you.”
Published - July 17, 2018 02:36 pm IST
