Rajkummar Rao says he loves roles that test his limits as there is no fun in doing something that comes "easily and naturally" to him. The actor is known for critically-acclaimed and scene-stealing outings in films such "Shahid", "Queen", "Aligarh", "Trapped", "Bareilly Ki Barfi" and "Newton".
"...I do not like something that comes easily and naturally to me. I like pushing myself as an actor. I like to play roles that challenge me and I can do something different. There has to be an extra edge to it. I enjoy that," Rao told PTI. Playing dreaded terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in frequent collaborator Hansal Mehta's "Omerta" was one such role that challenged him the most.
"All the characters that I have played, I could somewhere connect with them, either I know that person or make it my own and do it. But I don't know this world at all, I don't know anybody like him. So everything had to come from within. I know there is a lot of hatred and anger inside Omar and that was challenging to do. It was a tough and disturbing process to live with that kind of hatred," he said. It is a role reversal of sorts for the actor, who first collaborated with Mehta to play slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi. The 33-year-old actor said there are two types of people in the world - Shahid and Omar. "Both felt like victims, shared the same history but chose different paths." The film releases today.