It’s party time

We are not making out-and-out love stories of late but with the changing patterns in the industry, I hope to get a love story soon

The actress talks about 2016 being a successful year for her, December 31 plans and why she considers it as an achievement to have worked with Ram Charan and Surender Reddy again

It has been a magnificent year for Rakul Preet Singh on the career front. While her Sankranti release, ‘Nannaku Prematho’, was a hit, ‘Sarrainodu’, her summer release, was a blockbuster. Her latest release, ‘Dhruva’, alongside Ram Charan is setting the cash registers ringing. Admittedly, the actress is ecstatic. “It’s a satisfying feeling to have a great year. Also, it’s that time of the year where everyone is in party mode and when you had a fruitful year, you can party pretty relaxed. In fact, many of friends told me to party hard,” Rakul beams.

Rakul played Ishika, an IPS trainee who falls in love with fellow trainee Dhruva (Charan) in ‘Dhruva’. She admits to have watched the original ‘Thani Oruvan’ and bowled over by it. But, “Before I began shooting for ‘Dhruva’, I was sure that I shouldn’t consider it as a remake. I just watched the original once and refrained from watching it again as I wasn’t keen on getting inspired by Nayantara’s performance. She has set a certain standard and I was sure that comparisons would arise,” she points out, adding, “I approached Ishika in my own way and since director Surender Reddy gave a new spin to my love track with Charan, it kind of helped.”

Prior to ‘Dhruva’, Rakul had starred in the films of Ram Charan (‘Bruce Lee’) and Surender Reddy (‘Kick 2’) and both, released last year, tanked at the box-office big time. But she is glad that the actor-director duo got back to her with ‘Dhruva’. “In spite of the results of ‘Bruce Lee’ and ‘Kick 2’, both of them showed interest to work with me. I consider it as an achievement. It shows you are committed to your work and you never troubled them,” Rakul insists.

Rakul has dubbed for her role in ‘Nannaku Prematho’ and received rave reviews for it. Ask her why didn’t she dub for ‘Dhruva’ and she maintains, “We were shooting for the film till the last minute and my other films too were on sets. Guess that’s why it didn’t struck them (‘Dhruva’ unit) to ask me but Suri wanted me to dub and I was also keen. But as I was running from pillar to post for my other commitments, Allu Aravind garu said it’s ok and that they will adjust with a voice artist.” Isn’t she missing on the practice? “No, no. I’m speaking in Telugu throughout the day and in the process losing grip on other languages. I started to think in Telugu and I’m even yelling at people in Telugu,” she smiles.

Like this year, 2017 too will be a choc-o-block year for the actress as she has signed films opposite Sai Dharam Tej, Naga Chaitanya, Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Karthi. She is particularly excited about her part in the Naga Chaitanya-starrer. “When I heard the script from director Kalyan Krishna, I told my manager to adjust my dates in a way that I star in the film come what may. The part is so beautiful that everyone will relate to it. I’ve told many times that I want to star in that one film that people will remember for life and though I can’t speak how the film shapes up eventually, I’m certain that my part will be remembered forever. It’s a part on the lines of Kareena Kapoor’s from ‘Jab We Met’,” she exults.

Having starred in a bevy of action comedies, does she yearn to do an out-and-out love story? She informs that she would love to, as she is a die-hard romantic and loves watching love stories like ‘Aashiqui’ and ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’. “We are not making love stories of late but hopefully with the changing patterns in the industry, I get to do a love story soon.”

With the year coming to an end, she has already made up her plans to welcome 2017. “I would be ringing in the New Year in Goa with my friends. I’ve been planning to visit Goa for the past four years but couldn’t as I was shooting till December 31 at most occasions. This time around I told my manager that I need a couple of days off,” she smiles, signing off.

Nagaraj Goud