National Award-winner Rajkummar Rao will be seen playing the role of Srikanth Bolla in his upcoming eponymous film. He shared that he learnt about grit, perseverance and never giving upon meeting the industrialist.

Talking about the lessons he received after understanding and meeting Srikanth Bolla, Rajkummar told IANS: “Srikanth has taught me about grit, perseverance, and never to give up. It was very easy for him to give up, he could have just put it on his disability and said I could do only this much because I can’t see and I am visually impaired.”

However, he never allowed anything to stop him.

“He actually crossed all those hurdles. He would behave like a champion. He is already a success story. He is sharp and hardworking and that is something I learnt from him, to not give up,” added the actor.

All set to release on May 10, ‘Srikanth’ is inspired by the life of industrialist Srikanth Bolla. It also stars Jyotika and Sharad Kelkar, and has been helmed by Tushar Hiranandani.

Though he felt no pressure on his shoulders, Rajkummar, who is known for his ability to perfectly shape-shift into the characters he essays on screen, was aware of the responsibility he was taking on.

“I don’t get pressurised… I really want to push myself as an actor. I want to do work which is out of my comfort zone for myself. But there is a responsibility when you do work inspired by real life. But other than that I don’t like doing work under pressure because I don’t think I will be able to give my 100 per cent to it,” said Rajkummar.

Giving insight into the life of Srikanth, Rajkummar said that he is “such a joyful character. He is a person who is so full of life.”

“Of course, he has seen a lot of hardships but he is very positive in life. He is somebody who is an achiever, he is someone who puts goals in front of him and tries to achieve those goals by working very hard. When I met him that’s what I loved about him,” he said.

Since Rajkummar nails every character he portrays on screen, is there anything he cannot do?

Pat came the reply: “I want to do everything just like Srikanth says he can do everything. I want to do everything in my art form. I don’t want to stop myself by saying that I won’t be able to do this.”