Nearly four years into their marriage, Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa announced their pregnancy with a social media post on July 9. At a recent event, we spoke to the couple about embracing parenthood and this new phase of their lives.

Expressing their excitement about this new chapter of their lives, Rajkummar and Patralekhaa says, “We’re really looking forward to becoming parents. It’s a natural progression and we are delighted.” 

The actress further says, “We have our two puppies, who are our babies, so the motherly instinct has already kicked in.”

Rajkummar adds, “I was ready whenever she was ready. So, one day we discussed that maybe now we should take that next step and extend our family. God’s been really kind.”

Patralekhaa, who was last seen in Phule, reveals that her mother is the one family member who is most excited about the pregnancy. “My mum is super thrilled! I loved her reaction. When we told her we are pregnant, she couldn’t believe it because at one point she had given up on us (laughs). I remember one day she said, ‘You guys don’t want to plan it... I am not going to ask you anymore,’” she says.

Reflecting on the responsibilities of parenthood, Rajkummar shares, “I’m very proud of my upbringing. My parents taught me honesty, kindness and compassion. And that’s something we would love to instil in our child as well.” Patralekhaa adds, “I’m sure Rajkummar will make a great father.”

The couple is the brand ambassador for Tourism New Zealand's latest campaign called #BeyondTheFilter. They recently enjoyed a quiet break in New Zealand. Talking about their love for travel, Patralekhaa says, “We knew about the pregnancy, so we avoided boat rides. I also chose not to do bungee jumping and skydiving, but had a lot of fun and have amazing memories from the trip.” 

Rajkummar, who will be seen in a mini-series along with his wife, highlighting the natural beauty and rich culture of New Zealand, added, “We are avid travellers and this trip was one of the most unforgettable adventures we’ve ever had.”

In an industry that’s known to be tumultuous, Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa have been each other’s rock-solid support. In an exclusive interview with us, Raj and Patra, who celebrated their third wedding anniversary last month, speak about navigating ups and downs in the competitive world of movies, and how their personal losses have changed their outlook towards life. Read on...

Patra: When you are not doing well, you hustle but when your partner or sibling isn’t doing well, that makes it more difficult. You feel you can’t do anything about it. That was Raj’s journey with me. Raj was seeing success after success, and he would never talk about it, but I knew that my journey pained him a bit. Recognition for me has come in bits and pieces. It’s always good to get that validation. After Citylights (2014), mujhe itna saara pyaar mila for IC 814, which released this year. It took me 10 years!

Raj: She is extremely talented. I am not saying this because she is my partner, but I am inspired by her as an actor. I don’t know why she didn’t get enough deserving work after Citylights. I’m there for her, but acting is a personal lonely process. People can be around, but only you have to deal with your struggles. She had to fight it out herself. We follow this practice where she reads my reviews, and I read hers. When I started reading comments like how she was the show stealer in the series, I kept sending her the screenshots proudly.

Patra: Raj is my best friend, we grew up together. Initially, we were stuck at the hip. We did everything together. He then got busy with his shoots. I still remember, when he would watch some film or series without me, I would ask him, ‘Why did you do that? That’s cheating!’ I soon realized that this will be our normal. He’s the most down to earth person I know. Even after finding success, he’s the most basic guy. I used to think movie stars are supposed to be a certain way, he’s anything but that. Sometimes, I feel people take advantage of his simplicity, but I feel he’s aware of that and allows it. He likes to be at peace. If his call time is 5 am, he wakes up at 2.30 am, does his pooja, meditates and then leaves. Whether he gets to sleep for 45 mins or 2 hours, he won’t miss his schedule. He carries his late parents’ photo and my late father’s photo along with his little mandir wherever he goes.

Raj: We are who we are because of our blessings. I can’t change myself. That’s too much of an effort. When I joined the industry, I didn’t get a memo that you need to be a certain way. Your work is all that matters. My mother was extremely spiritual and religious so that grew on me. She would get up at 4 am in Gurgaon and bhajans would play in the house. I started inclining towards it. It helps me keep calm and reminds me who I am. Nobody.

Raj: I have got more clarity in life after enduring this pain. I lost my parents, Patra’s dad is no more, and we lost Gaga recently. Having seen death so closely, I have realized you don’t need to take life so seriously. You don’t need to constantly plan and be sure of your future. Live your life and do good karma. When death comes knocking, all the things that you stress about, won’t even matter. If Stree 2 does well, I am happy, but I don’t take success or failure to heart anymore. Everything is just a phase, and the show must go on.

Patra: I saw my dad working hard for the last 35 years of his life. He would work for 14-15 hours a day. He had gone for work to Shimla where he had a stroke. Whoever checked him didn’t know what it was. By the time I reached the hospital, he had passed away. There were no doctors around. He was just lying there. Before this incident, I used to be unhappy about why things weren’t going my way career wise, why work isn’t happening, etc. When I saw him there, I realized, work is just a part of your life, not your whole life. Your work doesn’t decide your worth. That was my biggest learning from the death I saw so closely. With Gaga, she was our anchor. For the seven years that she was with us, she taught us so many things. It may sound strange to some but losing a pet is as painful as losing a parent. With grief, you just have to go through it. You can’t snowboard into work. There’s no escape from it.

Patra: Even OTT needs viewership that must transition to subscription. Following this pattern hasn’t left the process democratic anymore. Initially, it was a lot better. Today, an actor is known by his social media following. Chances of you bagging a role are stronger if you are popular on social media.

Raj: I don’t get this logic. I have heard this myself ki, ‘Iske itne saare followers hai toh isko film mein lenge toh it will help the film’. Being an actor and a social media star are two very different things. How much following you have on social media says nothing about your acting skill. If actors were to be judged based on their social media following, Kim Kardashian should have been the biggest Hollywood star. Ranbir Kapoor is not even on social media, and he is a solid actor! It doesn’t matter if you are trained or not, what matters is whether you are talented. An actor must be deserving of the time an audience invests in them.

Raj: Nobody forces you to do it. Films are a visual medium, so if you want to look nice, why not? To each his own. I only see this happening here. When I was promoting my film Srikanth, people would do my interview and only this portion (chin question) would get highlighted. As if koi aur baat hi nahi hai karne ke liye. You think Brad Pitt looks this way at 60 without doing anything to his face? It’s about taking care of yourself. Our face is our tool as actors. This is what we sell, and we must take care of it. It has to go for servicing and fixing from time to time. You should do whatever gives you confidence and makes you happy.

Patra: If something is making you happy, why not? It’s very subjective. If a line or a wrinkle is bothering you and you want to get Botox done, it’s fine. If you want to lose or gain weight, you do that. It’s easy for people to sit around and pass comments that isnay yeh kyu kara, woh kyu karwaya? But it takes a lot of confidence to stand in front of the camera knowing crores of people will be watching and scrutinising you.

This year, Patralekhaa clocks in 10 years in Bollywood. The actress, who made her debut opposite her now-husband Rajkummar Rao in Hansal Mehta’s Citylights (2014), believes that her journey has just begun. “It has taken me 10 years to be like a fully working actor and not work for only four-five days in a year and then sit, wait, and pray to get more work,” says the Wild Wild Punjab actress.

In a conversation with us, Patralekhaa talks about her journey, not having any regrets and how lucky marriage has been for her.

Reflecting on her journey, Patralekhaa says, “10 years is a very long time. I was new to Mumbai. My friends and family did not hail from the film industry. My only point of contact was Raj (Rajkummar Rao), who I have been dating since then. But Raj’s career has been on a different path, and I don’t think I resonate with that path. Of course, he understood what I was going through, but he was really busy. He was always there, pacifying me. I went through different phases. I started painting. I had to understand what to do to make it work. At the end of it, nothing is in your hands, no matter how hard you work. If it is meant to be, it will be yours. I was very clear that I am going to work so hard that even if I fail, I wouldn’t have any regrets.”

Living with a successful actor who has only grown from strength to strength, did it ever make her question her own journey? “Initially, I would wonder, ‘Arre, even I got appreciated for this project then why did I not get similar results?’ It felt weird initially, but then you know that your life is different and you cannot compare your life with anyone else’s. I never resonated with Raj’s journey, and I am sure he doesn’t resonate with mine. I was doing whatever was being offered to me. Raj never had to reach out to people for work. His films worked, and it did all the talking. I can’t compare myself with him.”

Patralekhaa says that she is excited about the current phase in her career, which has her doing a variety of roles. Among her upcoming projects are a comedy with Varun Sharma and the series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack starring Vijay Varma and Phule with Pratik Gandhi.

“In the traditional medium, I have had filmmakers telling me that you are such a good actor, but we really don’t know where to place you,” says Patralekhaa, who believes that the OTT space offered her more scope to perform, which in turn got her more film offers.

She adds, “I’ve been the busiest since I got married (in November 2021). Which is why I feel that I should have gotten married earlier (laughs),” she says.

The actress is grateful for everything that she has got in her 10-year journey, “I have made some amazing friends here. I found my husband in this industry and city. This industry has given me a lot… it has been a package of failure and success. So, I am really content. Failure doesn’t bog me down. In fact, it has taught me patience and perseverance, and pushed me to keep working hard.”

Patralekhaa, who made her debut opposite her real-life boyfriend Rajkummar Rao in Citylights, has begun filming her new project with him in Kolkata. Probed if their personal equation comes in the way of work, she says, “There is no extra effort required to build an equation on the sets as it is smooth and tension-free.“

Ask her how Raj is as a boyfriend, and she blushes, “He is a wonderful person and an amazing boyfriend. More than that, he is my best friend with whom I can share everything. He is hardworking and persistent. And he encourages me a lot. I hardly get to spend time with him as he is either shooting or dubbing.“

Revealing that he loves to see her in a sari, she says, “I make it a point to wear a sari when I offer anjali during Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. I've turned Raj into a complete Bengali; he can speak the language fluently too.“

While it's not uncommon for a couple to discuss work, Patralekhaa says that they don't take suggestions from each other about their careers because it's their individual journey. “But we do discuss how Raj approaches a particular scene, or how I did a scene and so on...and he will never recommend me for a film - it doesn't work that way. I understand my freedom well and respect it at the same time,“ she concludes.

Portuguese-influenced Macau, with its glitzy casinos and the lure of easy money, coupled with rides in Hong Kong's Disneyland and the blessings of the Big Buddha, is a great way to bring in the New Year. Hong Kong, which translates to 'Fragrant Harbour' or 'Incense Harbour', is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the north. Famous for its skyline and malls as also its old-world temples and natural harbour, Hong Kong is the perfect confluence of the East and West. Patralekhaa on why she chose to ring in 2017 there...

Overcoming my phobia
I grew up with Mickey and Minnie cartoons and a room full of soft, cuddly toys. They were my best friends till I was sent off to boarding school. Distance only made the heart grow fonder and for years I dreamt of going to Disneyland and shaking hands with them. I finally fulfilled the dream when Raj (beau Rajkummar Rao) and I took a trip to Hong Kong towards the fag-end of 2016.

I'd have liked to make a start with the Disneyland in California. We have US visas but it was too far to travel when we had just a few days off. So, we decided to go to Hong Kong instead and the day we landed, made an internet booking.

It's only a 30-minute train ride from the Hong Kong MTR station to Penny's Bay in Lantau Island, with the last leg aboard the Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express. We were at the theme park by 10.30 am and among the last to leave at 8 pm. We'd been told we'd finish the tour in three hours, in 10 hours we only saw parts of the seven theme parks, including Main Street, USA, where you catch the grand parade of Disney characters, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point and Toy Story Land. I have to make another trip to complete the tour, in particular explore what the jungles have to offer.

Tomorrowland offers a blueprint to the future with its Iron Man attractions and its space ships. I'm not a big superhero fan but my boyfriend had a blast. What was memorable for me was the Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster ride aboard a train which climbs hills, zips through tunnels, goes into a dome and approaches the end in a plunging series of dizzying turns. I suffer from vertigo and after one crazy ride as a child, was terrified of them.



This time I didn't realized I had queued up for one till we were inside, and then it didn't make sense to back out after having wasted 15-20 precious minutes. And so there I was speeding along, my heart in my mouth, wondering if this was the end! I came out, shaken and stirred, but victorious because I'd finally won a hard-fought battle with a lifelong phobia of heights. I was so exhilarated I even ventured into another ride in Fantasyland. This one was less frightening till you returned backwards. Another one took us up against gravity, ending in a free fall. We also took a 4D simulator ride where you're thrown into the sea, actually feel water sprinkling on you, imagine you're drowning till the Iron Man arrives to save you.

I loved the vibe in the park - everyone is an excited child there - and walked out feeling six feet tall after all the adventures of the day. And today, I am thinking of a trip to Auckland, New Zealand, for a sky dive from 16,500 feet. That's how brave I feel having conquered a lifelong phobia!


Material to spiritual
The day after our Disneyland tour, we took a train to Lantau Island. The 34-metre Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, sits in the mountains. Facing north, drawing pilgrims to the remote Po Lin Monastery at Ngong Ping. You have to climb 268 steps to reach the top for a closer view of this bronze statue opposite which is the 'Buddhist World in the South', home to devout monks.

Besides the Buddha, who has always given me positive vibes, I enjoyed the cable ride. Our cable car had a crystal bottom. As we rode over hills, we could see birds flying and when we were crossing the sea it came alive below us! We spent four days in Hong Kong. I did some shopping - the usual girly things like shoes and bags. I also picked up some fridge magnets to remind me of the visit.


Casinos calling
From Hong Kong it was a day-and-a-half in Macau, the city of casinos. It is among the world's richest regions and became the world's largest gambling centre in 2006. I was introduced to roulette around six years ago but have come to realise that gambling is not my scene despite the adrenaline rush it brings. In fact, it tires me out quickly. Still, after Disneyland, the bright lights and the glitzy Venetian casino made me feel like an adult. We stayed the night, felt like royalty and then when day dawned returned to our wonderworld with memories galore.

After the release of her debut film, Hansal Mehta's Citylights, when Patralekhaa met a couple of A-line directors they couldn't reconcile the image they had of her as a small town girl with an eight-year-old daughter, Rakhi, who even as a bar dancer is far from sexy and glam, with the trendy 24-year-old who walked into their office. “They'd thought I was 30-plus,“ she reminisces with a laugh, admitting that even though she landed a few urban flicks after they saw her for real, the offers didn't impress. “I wanted something as impactful as Citylights, yet different.“

After a year of waiting, she approached Mahesh Bhatt for help and he asked her to contact Vikram Bhatt who frankly told her he needed someone really sexy and bold to play Ramona in Love Games. Unfazed, Patralekhaa got a photo-session done, concentrating on the styling without trying to grab eyeballs. And she landed the role of a woman who she describes as “dangerous and materialistic, a sexual predator who is unapologetic about her immoral lifestyle“. “It's a 360 degree turnaround from Citylights and Ramona is going to make even Priyanka Chopra's Sonia in Aitraaz look like a good girl,“ insists Patralekhaa, who found her muse in Basic Instinct's Sharon Stone. “Watching Sharon, I realised that I had to lose all my inhibitions and change my mindset drastically so it would translate in my body language.“

There was plenty of prep, yet the first couple of days in Cape Town with a unit which had still to become her family and an intimate scene with an actor, Gaurav Arora, who was a stranger, were daunting to say the least. “But I quickly realised that whether the person is your boyfriend or just a friend, doing an intimate scene in front of a crew of 40 is equally difficult. Doing them with Raj (Rajkummar Rao) in Citylights had given me as much anxiety. Fortunately, chatting with Gaurav before the scene, admitting to him how uncomfortable I was, and having Vikram sir behind the camera, made it easier. Vikram sir's films are bold but it's all in the mind, you don't have to show your body as I understood during the costume trials,“ Patralekhaa points out.

Still, she admits that while her dad was “cool“ with her choice of role, mommy was a little awkward initially but she didn't try to stop her. Having grown up in Shillong, in a matriarchal society, Patralekhaa had been brought up to follow what she believed was right and not quit mid-way.

And what was her beau Rajkummar's reaction? She points out that being an actor himself, he knows that what happens on camera is confined to the set and does not go beyond. “Raj himself went nude in LSD. We both come from non-filmi, humble backgrounds so every film is priceless for us and we don't indulge in any kind of small-minded talk,“ she asserts.

But what if the audience and filmmakers, seduced by the bold new Ramona, start believing Patralekhaa to be her mirror image? Stereotyping is not uncommon for a Bhatt heroine, be it Mallika Sherawat or a Bipasha Basu. “You're saying Love Games is a gamble? But then so was Citylights and it got me plenty of accolades and attention. Since I am not from the industry, I don't know the norms nor do I have anyone to tell me what is right or wrong. I have few options and nothing to lose,“ she argues.

On the stereotyping, she is confident that the filmmakers she wants to work with will know that Ramona is just a character she lives as an actor and give her a chance to do another 360-degree turn. If not, she is ready to sit at home and enhance her craft. She points out that apart from National Award-winning director Srijit Mukherji's Begum Jaan, a Hindi adaptation of his Rajkahini, she is not in talks with any other filmmaker.

And has playing Ramona changed her perception of love, turned it into a game? “Ramona was deprived of love, so she didn't understand it,“ Patralekhaa reasons. “I believe love is beautiful and should be spread around because it is a cure to unhappiness.“ Touche!

It has been a year since her debut film, Citylights, opened and many of the people she has met since, are surprised to find that she's not a simple, small-town woman in her 30s. “That was Rakhi, not Patralekhaa,“ she says, admitting she was unfazed about playing a mother in her first film or that it was in an Indie space. “I just wanted to act. There was no question of refusing a film with Hansal Mehta at the helm, a production house that promised visibility and an amazing co-star in Raj (Rajkummar Rao),“ she reasons.

In the midst of filming, both Hansal and Rajkummar went on to bag National Awards for Shahid and this added to the pressure. “One day, when I let it prey on my mind, I couldn't deliver. After that, I just let go,“ Patralekhaa shrugs Citylights got her rave reviews but the scripts that followed went down the same path. Only one project interested her, but when she learnt that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was no longer a part of it, it was a closed chapter too. And Patralekhaa left Mumbai to travel, spending a month in New York, watching plays on Broadway, absorbing the Indie scene and just walking around the cosmopolitan city. Now, she's returned to play some Love Games. That's the tentative title of her next film with Vikram Bhatt which kicks off on August 8 in South Africa. “My character is the polar opposite of Rakhi and even Patralekhaa,“ she admits.


And what's 'good friend' Rajkummar's reaction to the career turnaround? “Raj and I don't discuss work. I haven't shared the script with him, but going by the title, he knows what to expect and has told me to give it all I have, not be timid and inhibited. He's an actor too and doesn't have the mindset of a typical North Indian boy. Besides, we are friends first before anything else and secure about our relationship,“ she asserts.

She's not apprehensive about the skin show which is integral to the plot and character but onscreen intimacy is daunting. With the camera, and 20 other pairs of eyes behind it watching, even the lovemaking scenes with Rajkummar in Citylights were daunting, she recalls. Fortunately, the small town she grew up in, Shillong, is amazingly open-minded and her upbringing was very progressive with her parents insisting that her siblings and she make something of themselves and their lives before thinking of marriage. “My maasi married when she was 37. Marriage is not on the cards for Raj and me right now. We've left the future to destiny and are living in the moment. My parents like him. He's a polite guy and a brilliant actor,“ she smiles.

Surely, she didn't like him in Queen when he stood up Kangana Ranaut on the eve of their wedding? “My heart went out to him. His character was completely black yet he managed to make it grey by the film's end,“ she says, adding that she'd like to do a love story with Raj. “Something like Mani Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani where we could play our age and which would reflect our modern, urban mindset, “ she says.  For now it's Love Games.

What if it typecasts her as a sex symbol? “It won't,“ she quips. “In my next film I might play a Plain Jane. I don't play by the rules.“