Is Rajkummar Rao Bollywood’s Unofficial Poster Boy for Playing the Same Loser in Every Film?

Rajkummar Rao, once hailed as one of Bollywood’s most versatile actors, finds himself caught in a troubling cycle—playing the same small-town slacker in film after film. His latest release, Bhool Chuk Maaf, only reinforces this pattern, leaving many to wonder: is Bollywood failing one of its finest talents?

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Bhool Chuk Maaf: Rajkummar Rao’s Career Is in a Rut

Rajkummar Rao in Bhool Chuk Maaf plays Ranjan, a 25-year-old with zero ambition and even less charm. Despite being well into adulthood, Ranjan has never held a job, a fact that understandably frustrates his girlfriend’s father. Tasked with getting his life together within two months, Ranjan opts not to apply for real jobs, but instead gives Rs 6 lakh to a shady fixer (played by Sanjay Mishra) who promises him a government position. The money comes from selling his mother’s jewelry behind her back. When his girlfriend (Wamiqa Gabbi) offers her dowry to help, he feigns offense—then promptly accepts.

It’s the kind of morally murky, aimless role that Rajkummar Rao has been playing far too often. Once celebrated for his nuance in films like Shahid, Trapped, and Newton, Rao seems stuck in a loop of portraying unremarkable men whose mediocrity is played for laughs or false sympathy. And Bhool Chuk Maaf doesn’t buck that trend—it amplifies it.

While Rajkummar Rao has taken on different roles in films like Badhaai Do and Bheed, where he plays police officers, his filmography over the last few years reads like a template of typecasting. In Stree, he’s a clueless tailor in love with a ghost; in Chhalaang, he’s a slacker PE teacher. Shimla Mirchi sees him stalking a woman through the hills, while Roohi casts him as a kidnapper—not exactly a career goal. In the Netflix series Guns & Gulaabs, he fixes cycles. In Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, he’s a mehendi artist married above his league. And in Mr & Mrs Mahi, he’s relegated to managing his father’s sports shop.

The concern isn’t just that these characters are flawed—it’s that they’ve become indistinguishable. As Bhool Chuk Maaf makes painfully clear, even Rao’s considerable talent can’t keep these roles feeling fresh. Ranjan could walk into Roohi or Chhalaang and no one would bat an eye.

It’s an unfortunate case of an actor becoming trapped by the very identity that once made him stand out. While Shah Rukh Khan reinvented romance and Ranbir Kapoor walks the line between brooding and boyish, Rajkummar Rao appears to have been boxed into playing India’s most charming underachievers—whether we asked for them or not.

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