Rajkummar Rao Rates Himself 9/10 As Patralekhaa’s Husband: ‘Kuch Toh Gadbad Hogi…’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:December 11, 2024, 05:56 IST

Rajkummar Rao says wife Patralekhaa’s performance in IC 814 became a study for him. He calls her his biggest critic and cheerleader.

2024 has been a rather special year for both Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa. While Rajkummar proved his versatility once again with Srikanth, Mr & Mrs Mahi, Stree 2 and Vicky Aur Vidya Ka Who Wala Video, Patralekhaa made heads turn with IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. The Anubhav Sinha directed series saw her playing a cabin crew member on a hijacked flight, worried about her immobile and ill father. Taking to Instagram, Rajkummar had shared a lengthy heartfelt post lauding his wife’s performance in the show, stating his ‘heart is filled with pride’.

Now, in an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, he reveals that while they don’t shy away from hyping one another up, they’re also each other’s biggest critics. “She’s one of my most honest critics. She has been the first audience to most of my work. And when she likes my work, it’s a big validation for me. She’s a very knowledgeable girl. She has seen a lot of cinema and worked a lot. She’ll never say something just to please me and I totally respect and believe in her opinion,” Rajkummar tells us.

Talking about the perks of having an actor wife, he shares, “Most of the time, we end up liking and disliking the same films. We share the same taste in cinema. We both also criticise each other’s work. We like giving constructive criticism to one another in terms of the areas we can improve on and how we can grow. And that’s the fun of having a partner who’s also from the same industry and is equally passionate about cinema. She has a great understanding of performances. We discuss work and that’s how we grow with each other.”

Talking about her act in IC 814, he says it proved to be a ‘study’ for the actor in him. “She was fantastic in it, especially the scene where she says that she wants to make a phone call. For me, it was like going back to class. I asked her how she did that scene. She was so beautiful in it and I know that not many people can do what she did,” says Rajkummar, who has shared screen space with Patralekhaa in CityLights and Bose: Dead/Alive.

So, how would he describe himself as a partner? “I would rate myself nine as a husband. Wow, that’s not bad at all, right? I was about to say ten but then I thought that kuch toh gadbad hogi mujh mein. There’s always room for improvement (laughs),” says the actor, who recently wrapped the shoot of his next film, Maalik.

As the year comes to an end, Rajkummar looks back at their most memorable moment from it and shares, “It’s a little ironical. We got two new puppies and after a couple of months, one of the babies named Gaga died. That was extremely sad. It really shook us. In a sad way, this event and the way we reacted to it is something that I’ll remember for a very long time. But bringing them into our lives was a joy.”