Patralekha is the girl I’ll marry
Rajkummar Rao, the poster-boy of indie cinema, comes clean on his alleged womanising ways, says that he 'truly, deeply, madly' loves his girlfriend.
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 23, 2015)

For Rajkummar Rao success is newfound. With films like Shahid, Queen and Citylights earning him both commercial success and critical praise, the actor's Bollywood trajectory is on a steady upswing. With more work comes more attention and money. By the actor's own admission, his "materialistic lifestyle" has become "more materialistic". And for Rao, who broke into the indie scene with films like Love, Sex aur Dhoka and Ragini MMS, this means the privilege to do things that he only dreamt of earlier.

"I'd travel in buses and look longingly at fancy restaurants and wonder how it must be to sit inside and enjoy the food. It's been a long struggle and it's still a struggle to find good roles and keep growing. But yes, the cars have become fancier, I can travel anywhere without worrying about finances and eat at the restaurant of my choice. I was horrified when some website wrote that I can't afford the EMI of my car! Thank you, but I'm doing alright!" he exclaims.

With fancy cars, the female attention too has grown, substantially. Word in town is that he is having a series of one-night stands. "Tell me that's a joke?" he says stunned."I'm truly, deeply and madly in love with Patralekhaa. She's the woman of my dreams who I will marry. I don't need one night stands as I'm happy having several of them with Patra."

The actor insists that while he's never cheated on his girlfriend, infidelity doesn't mean the end of a relationship. "You should always talk and try to sort things out, rather than walking out without discussion." he insists. Recently, the couple went on a holiday to New York. They spent two weeks walking down the streets, sampling cuisines, and even caught Bradley Cooper on Broadway.

While real-life is brimming with romance, reel-life has more variety to offer. He's chasing Dolly who's robbed him of his money and serenading Hema Malini in Ramesh Sippy's Shimla Mirchi. Is he slowly but surely veering from indie to the mainstream? "No, I accept any role that will help me find a unique part of my personality. I'm as proud of a Dolly Ki Doli as I am of a Citylights. My integrity towards my job is the same irrespective of what genre the film falls in," he asserts.

However, there is a genre which he won't touch yet -- sex-comedy. "It's not that I will never do one. It should match my sensibilities," he reasons.

And while his Dolly, Sonam Kapoor, is 'chilled-out,' he is still in awe of the "beautiful" Hema Malini. "It's how she sustains her character's emotional continuity that bowled me over since it's something I find very challenging," he points out. "And in contrast to these films there's Hansal Mehta's Aligarh, a dark drama about a gay professor where I play a TV journalist." Is he homosexual too in the film? "Wait for the film," he says enigmatically.