Being a star is accidental, says Rajkummar Rao

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao feels anyone can become a star overnight with one hit film but he chooses to focus more on his craft than box office. The National-award-winning actor, best known for working in biopics like "Shahid" and "Aligarh", says he doesn't spend time thinking if he is bankable at the box office as these are things beyond his control. "That (box office) is something which is not under my control, I can't help it. So there is no point thinking about it and feeling sad or happy.

My only job is to act and play the character truthfully and honestly," he told reporters here. Rajkummar says he would rather focus on portraying his character with full honesty than thinking about being a star. "Being a star is accidental. You can be a star with one film but what about your next ten films? So my job is just to be constant and be honest towards my craft which I try. "Being a star is the byproduct of your work. I hope we have a 'star actor' since you're saying there are 'stars' and 'actors'." The 32-year-old actor was speaking at the trailer launch of his upcoming firm "Trapped." Rajkummar says he personally never differentiates between a commercial project and an indie film.

"I think that line between indie cinema and commercial is thinning. There isn't not much a difference between them. If you put four songs and one item number, it will become a commercial film. "I really don't differentiate between a commercial or an indie film. For me it's the story which matters and the filmmakers." The Vikramaditya Motwane-directed film is a survival- drama-thriller about a man played by Rajkummar, who gets trapped in his own house at a high rise building with no escape route. The actor prepared for the role by surviving on "coffee and carrots" for nearly 20 days to portray the physical transformation convincingly.

"It was physically and mentally exhausting for me to live in that space for almost 18-20 days, to eat nothing. Trust me, it's scary to hell. If you don't eat for two days you feel so frustrated, angry on everything. "There were times when there was a blackout. I used to get up and sit quietly for a moment. But that's the fun of being an actor. I feel very lucky to play such parts and work with such filmmakers." "Trapped" is scheduled to release on March 17.