This is going to be a special year for Rakul Preet Singh. After starting the year with the hit Nannaku Prematho, Rakul is ready to wear a new hat. She has joined the list of actresses-turned-entrepreneurs with a franchise of the gym F45 in Gachibowli. Her brother Aman, a fitness freak, has also moved to the city to help her out.
The actress has also bought a plush apartment in the city. “I understand only three things — films, fitness and food,” says Rakul, adding, “Pradeep, who owns F45, was talking about how they were looking to expand. Since fitness has always been an interest I planned to go ahead with the franchise. Yes, I bought a home too because I am always here. For now at least, I hope that I will continue working here so I started the gym too, which is being launched on February 20. The general idea people have of a gym is the one with a treadmill and an elliptical but this is very different, it has ropes and trawlers.”
Rakul adds that missing workouts makes her grumpy. “I work out every day. My friends say that I became an actress by chance, I should have become a gym trainer. I am the most grumpiest and irritable person if I don’t work out for two days. You cannot have a conversation with me.”
Looking back, she says, “My first film happened just within a month since I started to model. I didn’t know how big South films were. I thought let me do the film, I am going to make more than the pocket money that I get. I could buy a car and my friends will be jealous… Like how an 18-year-old would think… I didn’t have a direction but I had a goal. I then did my graduation in Mathematics and in my final year, I entered Miss India.”
Rakul had no mentor or godfather in the industry and says that it was all trial and error for her. “A lot of people don’t know that I had a special appearance in Keratam, that was my first Telugu film. I only shot for four to five days. When they called me, I said I can’t give 60 days for a movie, if you have something for one week or 10 days then I can accommodate. Later, I figured how the industry was, then I got back on a serious note and Venkatadri Express happened. From my first film to Venkatadri..., there were two years when people didn’t want to cast me. They were like ‘Oh, she had done that small role’. So I knew that I’ll not get a launch in a multi-crore film but I needed to work my way up.” She adds, “I worked hard to reach where I am today. While I was starting, there were three big films that I had signed and was removed from. But to be honest, your first film is not what you choose, the film chooses you.”
She adds, “After becoming an actor, it’s the privacy that I miss. Since the past few days, I have been very busy with the gym, I was very tired and went to a restaurant with my brother for dinner. There were people coming in to take photos. You sound rude if you say no, but they really don’t know how my day has been. So I miss having my space but I don’t complain. I do hangout a lot, I don’t think you should stop living your life.”
Reacting to the rumours that she had hiked her remuneration, the actress says, “I have to hike my remuneration. I charged Rs 5 lakh for my debut movie, I cannot keep working for the same amount. I don’t know why people discuss remunerations, because everyone gets an increment in their respective jobs, then why not actors?”
