Rakul Preet Singh has weighed in on one of Bollywood’s most uncomfortable open secrets—paid publicity wars—and she’s not mincing words. In a candid chat with Zoom TV, the actor described “paid PR stunts” as negative and questioned the mindset behind weaponising publicity to pull others down.
“Presence is fine—bashing people isn’t”
In the interview, she acknowledged that a basic level of visibility is part of the job, but drew a sharp line at aggressive, attack-driven PR.
Her most pointed moment came when she spoke about people who “go to the extent of bashing other people,” asking: “How negative can you be in life? How do you sleep with yourself?”
The larger point was simple: let the work do the heavy lifting. She framed it as a long-game belief in karma—consistent effort and integrity eventually finding their audience without needing a manufactured narrative.
Why her comments are landing now
Her remarks come at a time when PR has become inseparable from the entertainment economy—trailers, trend lists, “viral” sightings, curated chatter, and social media-driven perception battles often competing with the film itself.
The actor’s criticism also taps into a broader industry debate: whether hype-building is now replacing craft-building, and how much “visibility pressure” performers—especially women—carry in an ecosystem that rewards constant public presence.
Paparazzi pressure, and the “same jeans” moment
She also addressed the everyday micro-scrutiny that comes with being photographed constantly—sometimes when you’re styled, sometimes when you’re not—and argued that actors shouldn’t be forced to treat every appearance like a red-carpet moment.
In a lighter aside, she shared how her mother teased her for being snapped in the same jeans multiple times—an anecdote that underlined her broader stance: not every public sighting needs to be curated, and it’s okay to look “normal.”
Recent work and the box-office context
The conversation has been tied to her latest release, De De Pyaar De 2, where she stars opposite Ajay Devgn. Some coverage described the response as mixed and cited trade estimates of around ₹105 crore worldwide, while also quoting a reported budget figure of ₹150 crore—numbers that remain report-based rather than studio-certified.
What she’s doing next
Despite the noise around publicity culture, she’s keeping her slate busy. She is set to appear in Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, directed by Mudassar Aziz and featuring Ayushmann Khurrana, Wamiqa Gabbi and Sara Ali Khan, with story details still under wraps.
She’s also attached to Indian 3, directed by S. Shankar and headlined by Kamal Haasan, though release specifics have been largely fluid across reports.
And in a high-profile casting update, a Ramayana adaptation by Nitesh Tiwari has been reported to feature her as Surpanakha—a role that reportedly shifted after Priyanka Chopra was considered earlier.
The takeaway
What makes her comments travel is that they don’t sound like a rant—they sound like fatigue. In an era where headlines can be “bought,” stories can be planted, and narratives can be engineered, her message is essentially a reset button: PR can support the work, but it shouldn’t replace it—or become a weapon against others.
By – Sonali