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The voice on the other end is ecstatic. 'It's a blessed feeling. Words fail me.' Not without reason. Rajkummar Rao has just been told that his role in the biopic Shahid has won him the prestigious National Award for best actor. There's a deluge of congratulatory messages on his Twitter profile and text messages on his phone, which hasn't stopped ringing.

'I was in the middle of a shoot when the news came in,' Rao says. 'The icing on the cake is Hansal Sir's win, time for family celebration,' he adds, referring to filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who won the best director's award in the 61st National Film Awards announced on Wednesday.

We'd met just the week before, at Rao's residence in the western suburbs of Mumbai. In four years, Rao has acted in nine films — and won critical praise. The latest is Queen, where he plays a reluctant fianc�. But there is no sign of a star-in-the-making in his sparsely furnished living room. The beige walls are bereft of painting or knick-knacks — and there are no signs of the numerous awards that Rao has won for Shahid.

Shahid is the conversation starter. The film, released last year, also won him the Filmfare Critics Award. Rao plays the role of slain lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi who defended people charged with terror acts. His role has been widely lauded, but a scene that's also excited comment is the one where he is naked, with the cameras focused on his bottom.

'At that time I wasn't thinking about nudity,' Rao says. 'Once I took off my clothes I was able to understand the humiliation of my character in police torture,' he adds, recalling how he convinced Mehta to insert the nude scene in the film to make it look realistic. While shooting the sequence, Mehta had cleared the set. But Rao called everybody back to feel the embarrassment of being watched in the nude by people. 'I felt no shame. I could only feel the pain.'

Dressed in a black shirt and olive green trousers with flip-flops, Rao looks more like a college kid (if you ignore the Diesel watch on his wrist) than a Bollywood hero. The 29-year-old Gurgaon boy doesn't feel like a star either. 'I am not self-obsessed, sorry to disappoint you,' he grins.

Rao has been handling commercial and offbeat cinema with ease. He started his career in 2010 with Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) and recognition came with Shahid. He is a part of Mehta's next directorial venture, City Lights, which is an official adaptation of the British film Metro Manila, an immigrant story.

'City Lights is the toughest role of my career. It has drained me emotionally and physically. I couldn't shut myself out even after pack up,' Rao stresses. He leans back on the sofa and pauses for a few seconds to recollect his thoughts. For the role of an impoverished rural dweller, Rao had to shed eight kilos. 'I just ate salads and vegetables,' he says, and then leans forward energetically, sitting on the edge of the sofa, to face the next question.

I ask him how he prepares for his roles.

'I don't rehearse my lines.' It's 'the moment', he says, which brings out the best in him. 'I should not be confused about the character I play. I go deep into the character and I want it to drain me completely.' Perhaps that's why Govind of Kai Po Che looked so focused about earning money or Vijay of Queen looked like a creep you ended up feeling a little sorry for.

Right now Rao is in a secure spot as far his career is concerned. City Lights will be released next month and he is currently shooting for Arbaaz Khan's Dolly ki Doli opposite Sonam Kapoor. Later this year, he will start work with Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan in Hamari Adhuri Kahani and will also star in Ramesh Sippy's comeback film.

He chooses his films with care. 'It is always script-driven. A film should either engage or entertain. I won't be spending money to watch a movie where I have to leave my brain at home,' he says.

He is also part of an international project, Words with Gods, comprising nine short stories shot by different directors. He figures in the film directed by Mira Nair. 'She is such a warm person. Suddenly life feels so secure after chatting with her.'

Growing up in a middle-class joint family in the suburbs of Delhi (his father worked with the Haryana government), Rao was fascinated with Bollywood from a young age. When he was six he watched Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Dinanath Chauhan in Agneepath. For a week he was Vijay at home, ordering his older brother and sister around. Five years later, he was wowed by Shah Rukh Khan and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Even when he was in college, he secretly hoped that girls would call him Raj — Khan's name in the film.

A student of Blue Bells Public School in Gurgaon, Rao was a good dancer and trained in martial arts for 10 years. 'I am a gold medalist at the national level in taekwondo,' he says proudly. Taking part in a play while in Class X shaped his career choice. 'I loved the attention I got from my classmates and teachers. I decided I would be an actor.' He studied humanities in Delhi University and in the evenings trained under various theatre groups.

Rao went on to do what many with stars in their eyes do — he joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, moving to Mumbai in 2008 after graduating from FTII. His parents were supportive of his career choice. 'They knew I couldn't be anything but an actor. So they were confident that I would somehow survive.'

The ensuing struggle, he emphasises, kept him grounded. 'Those were the days of refusal. People used to say I wasn't fair enough or my eyebrows weren't proper. Before coming to Mumbai, I thought a good actor only needed to know how to act. But here people made me realise that looks mattered too. But I guess it happens with everyone,' he says.

The break came in the form of a newspaper advertisement. Dibakar Banerjee, it said, was looking for newcomers for LSD. He put in his application, was selected, and the film became a hit. LSD was followed by another hit in Ragini MMS. After a few small but significant roles, Kai Po Che put him into the big league and Queen upped the ante further. One of the biggest hits of 2014, Queen won him both commercial and critical acclaim. That it was an out-and-out Kangana Ranaut film didn't deter him.

'When I signed Queen, I knew it would be a Kangana film. I wasn't worried about my part getting overshadowed by Kangana. Moreover, I thought I could visit Amsterdam and Paris,' he laughs (the two cities figure prominently in the film). 'On a serious note, it's not that the length of the character is not important to me. I am a greedy actor. My role matters to me. But I want to be part of good stories too, irrespective of the role.'

We are halfway through the interview and he asks me again if I would like to have some tea or coffee. His cellphone, on silent mode, often flashes to signal an incoming call. Rao ignores the gadget, holding forth instead on the people who've inspired him — Robert de Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Aamir Khan and Irrfan Khan. How does it feel when people call him this generation's Irrfan Khan?

'It's a great compliment if people compare me with Irrfan Khan. He is the greatest actor from our industry. But I believe there can be only one Irrfan. I am happy being Rajkummar Rao.'

There was a time, though, when he was called Raj Kumar Yadav. But he rechristened himself as Rajkummar Rao last year. It was, he explains, at the behest of his mother. 'Rao and Yadav are the same in our (Ahir) community. Also, to avoid confusion with actor Rajpal Yadav, I opted for Rao. It sounded better too with Rajkummar.'

He has received congratulatory messages from almost everyone in the industry, including his idols Aamir Khan, Manoj Bajpayee and Irrfan. But Mahesh Bhatt's words still ring in his ears. 'He said: 'I have seen actors being inspired by someone or the other and it reflects in their acting. But you are pure, you are just yourself',' Rao recalls.

Rao is shy discussing matters of the heart. His girlfriend, Patralekhaa (earlier known as Anwita Paul), is a Bengali from Shillong and is paired with him in City Lights. 'We are in a steady relationship, in a happy space,' he says with a blush.

So is Bengal close to his heart too?

'Yes, in fact I can speak a bit of Bengali and understand most of it.' He utters a few sentences in Bengali which I fail to comprehend. He explains that he knows the language because he acted in a Bengali film Ami Sairabanu last year. The film was stalled because of financial problems. 'I play a eunuch in the film. It was a complex role I had always wanted to portray. More than 80 per cent of the shooting was over but sadly it is now stuck.'

As I bid goodbye, I voice my disappointment again. You hardly behave like a celebrity, I say, as Rao ushers me to the door. 'If I feel celebrity-like, it will be tough for me to play real characters,' he says with a boyish smile. A week later, with a National Award in his kitty, he still sounds the same over the phone. Look out, then, for another 'real character' role.