“I am so thankful to this entire ‘Army upbringing’ because when you’re shifting every two-to-three years you learn to adapt quickly…You see death and fear so closely, and yet you grow to be so fearless that petty things don’t bother you…”
It’s one of those days at the headquarter when the team and I are in the throes of putting together the magazine while strategising on endless possibilities and exciting collaborations that spring to life as imagination takes flight. Almost on autopilot, with a signing off ‘everything-urgent-all-at-once’ vibe, the highlight of the day comes in the form of my interview with the extremely versatile, easy, and ethereal cover star for the first issue of 2024, Rakul Preet Singh. A day ahead of our cover shoot, I have just about 20 minutes on call for an up close and personal insight into her world.
As our conversation flows and Rakul settles into the call on the other end, we don’t realise how quickly time doubles up to give me a 45-minute peek into Rakul’s universe—her growing-up years, her very grounded and solid upbringing rooted in the Army way of life and discipline, her single-minded focus, her love for her craft, making it on her own with no film pedigree to cushion the fall, her love and her hunger to do extraordinary work as an actor and creative force—who can’t stop, won’t stop carving a niche for herself in an industry where sustaining requires more method than madness.
