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Rakul Preet Singh: I was naive when I started off as an actor, that helped me a lot with confidence

Jun 06, 2024 01:48 PM IST

Actor Rakul Preet Singh, posing exclusively for HT City Showstoppers, gets talking about how her fashion sense has evolved in each stage of her life so far.

Rakul Preet Singh’s journey in films started off as a way to make ‘good pocket money’. From that, to today juggling Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films, it’s been a hell of a ride.

Rakul Preet shines in a silver metallic saree with lustrous embellishments along the border from Mehul Gupta Label.Her look has been styled with a beaded blouse and spruced up further with a diamond and emerald choker from The House of MBj. This is an apt look for your cocktail bash.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)
Rakul Preet shines in a silver metallic saree with lustrous embellishments along the border from Mehul Gupta Label.Her look has been styled with a beaded blouse and spruced up further with a diamond and emerald choker from The House of MBj. This is an apt look for your cocktail bash.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)

But she chooses to not call whatever she faced till here as a ‘challenge’, “I don’t like the word ‘challenge’, everyone has that. A daily worker works to make ends meet, a doctor’s challenge is to make the surgery successful. Whenever you decide to take the road less travelled, you are obviously going to have challenges. You want to take those up, if that is what gives you an adrenaline kick.”

Singh, born in Delhi, had no connections with showbiz. “I was sure about it when I began my career, that I will give an audition and crack it. I was naive, and that gives you confidence when you know very little. That worked in my favour. I couldn’t question my talent because I didn’t know any better!,” quips the 33-year-old, as she shoots exclusively for HT City Showstoppers.

Take inspiration from Rakul for your D-day, who looks bewitching in a red lehenga with mughal inlay motif and paired with a belt from designer JJ Valaya. Her look has been accessorised with exquisite jewellery from the house of Archana Aggarwal Timeless Jewellery, showcasing a captivating blend of polkies, gold, emeralds, and South Sea pearls.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)
Take inspiration from Rakul for your D-day, who looks bewitching in a red lehenga with mughal inlay motif and paired with a belt from designer JJ Valaya. Her look has been accessorised with exquisite jewellery from the house of Archana Aggarwal Timeless Jewellery, showcasing a captivating blend of polkies, gold, emeralds, and South Sea pearls.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)

Talking to us as she works on De De Pyaar De 2 currently, Singh’s first film comes to mind. It was a 2009 Kannada film called Gilli. “That was like a hobby film, my journey started properly in 2013. I am not someone who looks back, there’s so much more to do. Whether it is working in the south cinema with the biggest of stars, mostly all of them, and then Hindi today, I feel like there is still much to do,” she says.

Instead of her harbouring an acting ambition, it was rather the other way round. Singh tells us she began modelling at the age of 18, “Then in a month of my pictures being circulated, I got an offer for Gilli. I did it for the extra pocket money, I knew nothing. I realised I would make money in lakhs, whereas my pocket money was 2000. I had never seen a film camera before that in my life.”

A perfect amalgamation of modernity and tradition, Rakul slays in this fusion look in a cropped blazer styled with three colourful Benarasi silk sarees in fuschia, zari and gharchola that have been styled into a skirt from Vidhi Singhania,a handloom brand known for its exquisite weaves. Her look has been further amped up with antique polki necklace with rose cut diamonds and pearls from The House of MBj. This look is perfect for the nonconformist brides.
A perfect amalgamation of modernity and tradition, Rakul slays in this fusion look in a cropped blazer styled with three colourful Benarasi silk sarees in fuschia, zari and gharchola that have been styled into a skirt from Vidhi Singhania,a handloom brand known for its exquisite weaves. Her look has been further amped up with antique polki necklace with rose cut diamonds and pearls from The House of MBj. This look is perfect for the nonconformist brides.

The experience sowed the seed of acting in her mind, but she wanted to finish her studies first. “I finished college, went to the Miss India pageant and my Hindi film Yaariyaan happened. I then finished shooting for my first Telugu film, which released before Yaariyaan,” she shares.

Singh’s role range varies from playing the simple, conventional filmi heroine in films, to experimenting with films such as Chhatriwali (which spoke about safe sex), Doctor G (about a male doctor becoming a gynaecologist), among others.

Rakul Preet Singh stuns in a silver metallic saree with lustrous embellishments along the border from Mehul Gupta Label.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)
Rakul Preet Singh stuns in a silver metallic saree with lustrous embellishments along the border from Mehul Gupta Label.(Photographer: Vidhi Godha)

But the actor confesses she has had to overcome being boxed. “That happens all the time,” she says, “Human beings have that herd mentality, it’s not just in our profession. That happened with me. I was doing all girl-next-door roles in Telugu till De De Pyaar De. With that film, I made the switch to a hot and happening character. Makers thought ‘oh she can be hot also’. Makers of Doctor G for example were a little unsure first. I don’t know who did, but there was a collective discussion after the film’s narration ‘will she be able to look like a small town doctor?’ An actor’s job is to look different, that’s why we are acting. If I have to play myself, where’s the fun of it?”

 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: SHARA ASHRAF PRAYAG

PHOTOGRAPHER: VIDHI GODHA

STYLIST: ANSHIKA VERMA

HAIR: SALIM SAYED

MAKEUP: ALIYA SHAIK

PRODUCTION: SHWETA SUNNY, ZAHERA KAYANAT AND VITTI JOSHI

LOCATION: FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, MUMBAI

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