Rakul Preet Singh, who made her Bollywood debut with Yaariyan in 2014, recently opened up about how little she understood about the professional ecosystem surrounding actors when she first entered Hindi cinema. Despite receiving positive reviews for her role, Rakul said she was unaware that visibility, PR support, and consistent industry presence were essential for capitalising on early success.

Rakul Preet Singh admits she was unaware of industry “machinery” after Yaariyan debut: “Had no time for wasteful nonsense”

In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Rakul shared that she only understood the dynamics of the industry years later. “I got to understand this a few years ago, that to even catapult yourself to a certain level, there’s a lot of machinery. There’s PR machinery, you have to be present and seen at various events. Yaariyan gave me recognition and I remember getting good reviews for me. But, I wasn’t here at that time, I was shooting in Hyderabad. I didn’t know how to juice out opportunities during that time,” she said.

The actor assumed that more offers would naturally follow after her performance was noticed, but soon realised that the process was far more layered. “I thought people will see me in the film, like me and offer more films. I didn’t know the whole process at that time. There was nobody to guide or tell me what kind of clothes to wear. I didn’t know that there are stylists and you have to hire them while going for promotions. I felt like, ‘What is this? Hazaaron ki payment ek din mein, yeh toh bahut mehenga hai,’” she added with a laugh.

Rakul revealed that the timing also worked against her, as she was juggling multiple Telugu films when Yaariyan released. “Today I know what I could have done differently. I was shooting three Telugu films, so I went to Hyderabad after Yaariyan promotions. The box office figures of the film were good, but I was really busy. I thought that people will see your work and you will get more work on that basis. Had no time for wasteful nonsense, didn’t even know about that nonsense.”

On the work front, Rakul Preet Singh was last seen in De De Pyaar De 2, also starring Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, Meezaan, and Jaaved Jaaferi. The film serves as a sequel to Luv Films’ 2019 comedy drama De De Pyaar De.

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