Rajkummar Rao had five releases in 2018, namely the Hansal Mehta directed Omerta, Fanney Khan, Love Sonia, 5 Weddings, and the blockbuster horror comedy Stree.
Rao played the role of Pakistani-British terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the movie Omerta. The film did the rounds of different international film festivals in 2017-18. After the release of two trailers in March 2018 and April 2018, Omerta was released in theaters on May 4, 2018. Both the film and the performance of Rao were highly praised and acclaimed by critics. The movie however underperformed at the box office.
Rajkummar had minor roles in Love Sonia and Fanney Khan. He was paired opposite Aishwarya Rai in the latter, while the former featured international actors Demi Moore and Freida Pinto. Both films were duds at the box office. 5 Weddings, starring Bo Derek and Nargis Fakhri alongside Rao was set in India and the US. It premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 and had a theatrical release in India on 26th Oct 2018. 5 Weddings was also a big flop.
Stree was the biggest hit of Rao in his career as an actor. Directed by Amar Kaushik, the movie featured Shraddha Kapoor as the female lead and Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee, and Aparshakti Khurrana in supporting roles. Shooting for the film commenced on Jan 13, 2018, in Mumbai and Bhopal, and finished in May 2018. Stree hit the theaters on 31st Aug 2018. Upon release, it met with critical acclaim as well as love from the viewers. Made on a budget of around INR 23 crores, the movie had collected over INR 180 crores at the box office by Jan 2019, thereby making it one of the highest grossing Bollywood films of 2018. Rao won the best actor award at the Star Screen Awards for Stree. The movie won a total of 5 awards at the event.
In 2019, Rajkummar will be seen in the below listed upcoming films.
- Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga: It is a romantic comedy coming-of-age drama movie produced by Vinod Chopra Films and directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar. Besides Rao, the cast includes Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor Juhi Chawla, Regina Cassandra, Madhumalti Kapoor, and Brijendra Kala. As per rumors, Sonam will essay the role of a lesbian in the film. It is scheduled to release in theaters on Feb 1, 2019.
- Mental Hai Kya: This film will bring together two of the finest actors in Bollywood, i.e., Rao and Kangana Ranaut. Jimmy Sheirgill, Amyra Dastur, and Shaheer Sheikh are other cast members in this Prakash Kovelamudi directed and Ekta Kapoor produced black comedy thriller drama. The film’s background spans across four years, 1947, 1971, 1993, and 2015. Shooting commenced in May 2018 and the film will have a theatrical release on March 29, 2019.
- Made in China: It is a quirky comedy film directed by National Award winning director Mikhil Musale. Mouni Roy will play the role of the wife of Rao in the film. ‘Made in China’ also features veteran actor Boman Irani and Amyra Dastur in important roles. The theatrical release date of the film has been set as 30 Aug 2019.
- Untitled film by Dinesh Vijan: After the success of Stree, producer Dinesh and Rajkummar will collaborate once again for another horror comedy. Vijan has stated that the new film will not be a sequel to Stree. Rao will essay the role of a petty goon whose plans get disrupted after discovering that he may have some encounters with supernatural beings. Shooting will be done on location in Moradabad, UP. Varun Sharma has been added to the cast, but the director and female lead have not been finalized. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba will co-produce the film. The release date has been scheduled for Jan 2020.
There is not much information about the below listed films which star Rajkummar. Their release dates have also not been finalized.
- Life In A Metro 2: This sequel to Life in a Metro will have Rao and Parineeti Chopra in the lead. Anurag Basu will be the director of the sequel as well. It is rumored that the film will hit the theaters in 2019.
- Turram Khan: It is a social comedy featuring Rajkummar and Nushrat Bharucha as the lead pair. The movie will be set in a small town in UP. Hansal Mehta will direct and Luv Ranjan and Ajay Devgn will be the producers. As per rumors, Turram Khan will also release in 2019.
- Other movies: As per reports, Rao will also be seen in Bengali movie ‘Ami Saira Bano’ and Hindi film titled Shimla Mirchi. Shooting for both the movies has finished.
