Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao is enjoying the mega success of his recent theatrical release, Stree 2. The horror sequel has been making waves on social media for its unexpected cameos with Akshay Kumar and Varun Dhawan. Recently, Rao opened up about glorifying negative characters in the film and how people should perceive the reel characters. Reacting to characters like Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas, the actor defended the latter. He also praised Ranbir Kapoor's acting and performance, despite the ‘issues’ underlying in the film.   

Rajkummar Rao on Devdas and how people should decode characters  

Stree actor Rajkummar Rao recently appeared on a podcast show and shared his extensive views on films and characters. The 39-year-old actor was asked how negative characters like Devdas impact people in a way as they try to imitate the characters. While reacting to the question, he said that the problem doesn’t lie in a character but is rooted in the mindset of people. For instance, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee (played by Shah Rukh Khan), who becomes an alcoholic as a consequence of family politics and his troubled love life.    

Sharing his views, Rao told Raj Shamani, “If you want to become Devdas after watching it, the problem is in you. You have been shown a story that there might be some guy like Devdas. He (director) isn't asking anyone to become like him, and it's based on a book... It's a character story. He dies in the end. He is telling you if you do this, you gonna die sooner. He is not telling you that he is facing all these, still he is living well and has a lot of money.”  

Rajkummar Rao on Animal and Ranbir Kapoor

The host then asked him about Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal which also faced some flak for its toxic titular character. Whether it is obsessive love or immoral behavior, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s action film grabbed eyeballs for different reasons. While sharing his thoughts, the Shahid actor lauded Ranbir Kapoor’s performance in the movie. He agreed that Animal had ‘some issues here and there, but he enjoyed it.’ He even called Ranbir’s acting mind-blowing and defended the film by citing the title ‘Animal’ that reflects on the story and not some misleading one like Adarsh Purush (idol man).    

"I loved Animal, the experience of watching Animal. I enjoyed it. Did I have some issues with the film? Maybe. Some scenes here and there, yes. I enjoyed the film,” he added.  

Meanwhile, Stree 2 has been raking in crores at the box office. It is inching closer to the 300-crore mark and is expected to perform well even in the second week of its release.

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