In over a decade-long career, Rakul Preet Singh has been a part of films varying in genres and languages. Whether it was her first Bollywood outing with Yaariyan, a nail-biting action thriller like Aiyaary, social comedies like Doctor G and Chhatriwali or a legal drama like Runway 34, the actress has managed to showcase some new flavours with her acting chops. However, Rakul’s latest film Boo is her first in the horror space.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Rakul Preet Singh revealed what compelled her to be a part of this genre. She shared, “I think the reason was the pandemic because the film came to me during the lockdown and A.L Vijay Sir said that there is this concept of horror-comedy space he is trying to create in a lockdown all in one house. So we don’t have locations so all of us can come together and do this film in the lockdown. So it was a very lockdown driven story so that’s when I was like it’s a pretty interesting concept and I haven’t done something like this. It’s a multi-starrer and it’s going to give me something new to do. We were anyway all sitting at home and we wanted to work. So that’s how Boo happened.”
Glossing about her experience, Rakul Preet Singh added, “It was a great experience because Vijay Sir is a great director and he clearly knows what he wants. And it’s the genre I hadn’t done before and it just so happened that I have not really had a script of this genre come to me. But if I do get something in the horror comedy space which is interesting, I will do it again.”
When asked about the dwindling popularity of horror films in the Indian landscape, the Doctor G actress explained that it is perhaps because ‘fewer people make good horror Films’. However, she quoted examples of Stree and Bhoot to state that horror films are very much in fashion, “Boo is a horror-comedy. It’s not a proper horror film. So I am sure if good horror comedies are made, people will take to it and enjoy it,” she said.
She also added that it doesn’t matter if a horror film is told through a social lens as long as it’s been made with an honest intention. Rakul explained, “People would be interested in watching a good film. Whether you tell a social film or whether you tell an entertaining film or horror film or whatever concoction you make it in. If it is a good film and if it is making sense to them, they will watch it.”
As for her belief in ghosts and spirits, Rakul Preet Singh doesn’t deny that it doesn’t exist. However, if one puts their faith in the higher power, then everything will be good. She expressed, “There are spirits everywhere. But I believe in the power of God and I feel that if you believe in that power then everything is in control. All is well with you.”
Rakul Preet Singh is equally popular down South for her roles. On being asked how she manages to divide her time between her Bollywood and Telugu industry, especially since she has been away from that space, Rakul quipped, “For me, I am working everyday. It could be any industry.
So it’s not that I have a gap. The release patterns are not in my control and yes it becomes difficult to do the same thing at the same pace everywhere because I am based in Mumbai now and I am doing more work here and I can’t do as many Telugu films as I would love to because the timelines don’t match. Having said that, for me as an actor, the priority goes to
the script. And if I like anything from anywhere, I would do it.”
Rakul Preet Singh was the highlight of 2022 since many of her films like Attack, Runway 34,
Cuttputlli, Doctor G and Thank God got released one after the other. When asked how the year transformed her as an actor, Rakul answered, “I think I loved being a part of every project. Ofcourse, Doctor G being very special. Runway being a very special film. Chhatriwali that released this year was a very special film because it gave me the scope of doing something new. I can never say how it transformed me but I think every time you go on a film set,
What you take back is how you have grown as an actor. It is subconsciously present. Because you are working with different people, you are working with different roles and you grow as a person, as an actor. It influences you in some or the other way. And I am sure all those films also did that to me.”
The actress also recalled how her Chhatriwali co-star Satish Kaushik’s death came as a shock,
“He was such a lovely person. I was shocked. We were promoting the film and then I heard this news. It just made me feel that life is so unfair for someone who is so full of life. And he was just so happy always and trying to keep everyone happy. All I can say is that we lost a gem.”
While most of Rakul Preet Singh’s films like Doctor G and Thank God had received love and praise, most of them were not able to create ripples at the box office. When asked whether she hopes 2023 is different in that sense, Rakul quipped, “I feel that post-pandemic, it’s been like a restructuring of what’s happening. Everyone’s trying to understand. It’s not that my films were bad. The reviews for every film were great and the same films were very-well appreciated on the OTT as well. So I think that the question we should ask is why our people not going to the theatres? Maybe in the beginning, the reason was people were too scared. Because theatres were open but Covid was still lurking around. There is also a bigger fact that I have addressed earlier also which I personally feel are the costs.”
Explaining her point, she further added, “Not everyone can afford. When they have gotten used to watching content at home, they feel that a family of four spending thousands and thousands of rupees in the theatres is not affordable to all. And people have witnessed difficult times during the pandemic. We are the blessed ones who had a house and who had nothing to worry about for the next few months. But there were people who were struggling for survival. So how do we expect them to come every week for a film? Because every week a new film was releasing because of the backlog. So maybe it was no one’s fault. The producers had to release their film because they couldn’t hold on it for too long. The audience had not that much money or liquidity to spend every week on a film whether good or bad. It just that the times were such. And now slowly and steadily, things will get better.”
As a follow-up to this, Rakul Preet Singh also revealed that she never measures the success of her film through box office numbers. She believes if her work is loved by the audience, her job is done then, “For me, the box office is not in my control. As an actor, I am putting my work out there and if critics are appreciating my work then my job is done there. If somebody says that Rakul was bad then that’s for me to introspect and work on my craft. But if I had done what the director asked me to do or what the film required me to do, I’ve done my work which we saw in the case of whether it was Runway or Doctor G, where we got highly appreciated. But unfortunately, the box office was not what we would have liked it to be, it’s okay. It’s not in my control. The world has gone through a pandemic and its globally the same story. It’s the universal films which are working in the theatres like the Marvel, Fast And Furious, things like that where it’s a multi-starrer, big scale film, or a visual experience or something that has relatability like Drishyam. So it’s the trial and error that we will all learn from. And slowly we’ll understand what it is. But for me as an actor, as long as my work is appreciated and people I work with are happy and the audience is happy with my film, I am happy,” the actress stated.
Rakul Preet Singh also expressed her love for the OTT medium. She shared, “I think it’s a great medium to tell stories in a long format as well as for certain films. For example, my film Chhatriwali was on OTT. It was supposed to be an OTT film from the beginning. And I think for a script like that, it’s a perfect choice. When it is fighting a social norm, It is a great platform to tell such stories and I am absolutely open to it. If I get something that is challenging, that is a great role, I would love to do it.”
Rakul Preet Singh is currently shooting with Kamal Hasan for Indian 2. Sharing her experience working with the legendary actor so far, Rakul disclosed, “I think Kamal Hassan is an institute in himself. He has possibly spent the maximum years in the Indian film industry, if there is 100 years of the film industry, he has been there for 70 years, almost 60 years? So he is so knowledgeable and he is such an amazing person and so dedicated to his craft that you can only admire his dedication. It’s amazing to work with him.”
Rakul Preet Singh’s Boo is now streaming on JioCinema.