Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; December 16, 2013)

Rahul Singh, 37, got his artistic bent from his writer-mother Dr Prabha Thakur and wanted to be a sportsman or cop till he became an actor. He got recognition through his roles in Zubeidaa, Tere Bin Laden and Delhi Belly but what is extremely interesting is his role in Anil Kapoor’s 24 where he is playing the part of Vikram Maurya, who has an uncanny resemblance to the son-in-law of one of India’s leading political families. While Rahul considers the script a work of fiction, we found the similarity interesting given that his mother is the President of the All India Women’s Congress. He has written the dialogues of Sanjay Gupta’s Kaante, story of Anurag Kashyap’s Gulaal and claims to yet have not met a more beautiful woman than his wife Vartika. In a conversation with Bombay Times, he talks about the chilled-out Akshay Kumar, the importance of a good script and why he was scared meeting his neighbour Amjad Khan as a child. Excerpts:
 
How did you get into films? I was born in Udaipur and brought up all over. We are Thakurs with a jagirdari background. My father was studying and doing farming and was just 23 when I was born. My mother, Dr Prabha Thakur, is considered one of the finest poets in the country, but did not have enough opportunities in Udaipur, so decided to move to Mumbai with my dad who was happy to do that for her. I was in Class I then. My dad got into construction with his friends from Rajasthan. I studied in Silver Beach High School but was a total brat. I would not listen, would write love letters in Class IV and dad felt that I was losing touch with my roots. I was sent back to Rajasthan where I studied in Mayo College, Ajmer till Class XII after which I returned to Mumbai to do my graduation from St Xavier’s College where I started writing and doing theatre. By this time, my parents had moved back to Udaipur as dad got into hotels and owned hotels in Udaipur and mom became politically active. She is a member of the Parliament for the third time now and is President of the All India Women’s Congress and is amongst the senior-most Congress leaders of the country. After college, I went to England and joined the Royal Academy of Arts for three years. I got back and did some modelling and did a lot of work with Atul Kasbekar where I coincidentally did my first ad film with Abhinay Deo. I then got my first break with Shyam Benegal when he cast me in Zubeidaa. Coincidentally, Abhinay is also directing the TV serial 24, and has cast me in his first film Delhi Belly.
 
Did your parents support your decision to act? My father ensured that we heard good music, saw good films and developed a taste for good food and art. But he was not too happy with the fact that I wanted to be an actor. Which father is? Every father wants you to have a job. He felt that we could build a bigger hotel if I did hotel management. He wanted me to remove acting from my head till one day, I invited him for my play and that’s when he changed. My mother was always alright with whatever we wanted to do so long as it was within the realm of humanity.
 
Actors who have influenced you in your life? There are many but certainly Amjad Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar.
 
Talk about Amjad Khan? Amjad Khan was my neighbour as well. I remember the first time I saw him I was about eight, but I was so scared that I ran for my life to my dad as I could only see Gabbar in him.
 
Talk about Akshay Kumar with whom you worked in Khiladi 786?
He is very secure, confident and chilled out. He would demonstrate every action sequence to me and the only day I got hurt was the day he was not shooting with me. That is how much care he takes of you.
 
Did you lose hope during your journey as an actor? Yes, and I think it has taken a really long time. I started working in 2002. But I believe that whether you are upset or in a bad mood, you have no right to spoil the mood of your family members. A real man will not do that. If I can give any advice to anyone, it will be that whatever is happening in your life, when you come home, create a happy atmosphere. You expect your parents to bring joy in your life and you also need to do that for your kids. You have to make a conscious effort that people around you should not be affected by your ups and downs. Success comes with time. I started early, so age-wise it is not late but I think it should have come a long time back. People are waking up to good actors and only having a big name is just not enough. There is something called a script and everybody rides on the shoulder of it.
 
Unless you are Salman Khan? Even if you are a Salman Khan, you need a good script. It is his golden age and peak time now. But golden time is only till you are at your peak. So, you will need a script again as in the past also, a big star like him needed a good script, be it Karan Arjun, Tere Naam or Hum Dil Chuke Sanam…who doesn’t? He is the son of one of the greatest writers ever in the history of cinema and if he doesn’t have respect for a script, who will? There is a formula that is working that is very nice but he will always need a good script. Why Salman, everyone needs a good script. Salman may still manage with his charm but others cannot even do that.