Rakul Preet: Not interested in roles where I'm restricted to a few scenes and songs

The actress holds forth on her upcoming release, Konda Polam, directed by Krish Jagarlamudi

Gone are the days when mainstream heroines would be content making a career out of a few girl-next-door roles with the song-dance routine and chirpy scenes in films featuring a popular star. These are times when actresses and the characters they play merit a voice more than ever before. Rakul Preet too is keen to move beyond the 'pretty girl' image and is constantly trying to reinvent herself as a performer. Her choice of films in the recent past proves the same -Check, NGK, Manmadhudu 2 and De De Pyaar De. Her next release is Krish-directed Konda Polam, where she pairs up alongside Uppena actor Vaisshnav Tej.

Sharing her excitement about the film, she says a film like Konda Polam hasn't been made in Indian cinema to date. The story tells the realities faced by the shepherds and also has a Jungle Book-like angle to it. "I immediately said yes to the story when I heard the narration from Krish." Unlike what's being proclaimed, Rakul says that she's not playing a village role for the first time and that films like Current Teega, Rarandoi Veduka Choodhham, Khaki offered her similar opportunities.

"Yet, I would say my character in Konda Polam is very different. My skin was tanned for this role. I'm grateful to Krish for considering me to play the part," she adds. The biggest challenge for her was with the dialect besides the look. "Most of the shepherds wear the same kinds of clothes, hardly have any jewellery. I and Vaisshnav found it very difficult to control the sheep in the forest. It took us nearly four days to familiarise ourselves with it. We worked very hard to bring authenticity to our performances," the actress states.

Rakul also maintains that she's selective about her roles these days. "I am no longer interested in doing films with songs and a few scenes. I want to take up challenging roles and it's the very reason I took up Konda Polam. Regardless of the industry, I am only chasing good roles. There's no truth to reports that I am preferring Bollywood over the others. I am doing films wherever I get good roles. I want to do at least one film which the audience will remember for their lifetime," she signs off.

Also read: Rakul Preet-Vaisshnav Tej starrer movie’s first look to be out on August 20

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