Sukumar helped me discover the actor within: Rakul Preet Singh

Rakul Preet Singh, who worked with filmmaker Sukumar in the forthcoming Telugu release "Nannaku Prematho", said the experience helped her discover the actor within and perform beyond her own expectations.

"Working with Sukumar was amazing. He's someone who trusts his actors and allows them to experiment with dialogues and scenes. When you're working with him, you learn a lot subconsciously and that helped me in discovering the actor within," the former model told IANS.

Rakul believes she has given her career's most natural performance in the film.

"Sukumar comes from a very different school of working style. He never shoots with set dialogues and scenes. Most of it is improvised on the spot. He'd tell me, 'Rakul, if this is your character, how would you behave? Show me'," she said.

"Instead of making us act, he'd make us become the characters we play. He'd pick up these nuances from our day-to-day lives. He'd remind me of how I did something over breakfast in the morning and then ask me to include it in my performance," she added.

Paired with actor Jr. NTR for the first time, Rakul plays the daughter of a multi-billionaire in the film.

"It's a character I haven't played before, so there was no reference to it. The testing part was to look believable in the role, because unlike any other character, a billionaire's daughter carries herself very differently, be it the way she dresses or even walks," she said.

Talking about her experience of working with NTR, she said she experienced initial jitters.

"It's because I've only met him once before briefly. I didn't know him as a person or know his mood will be before the shoot. But slowly the ice was broken and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him," she said, and added he's extremely talented.

"He's someone who is brilliant in every sphere of cinema. When you're working with him, you're automatically pushed to the edge and that's very rewarding, because when you have a talented co-star, you want to perform even better," she said.

Rakul was also nervous to match steps with NTR, who is an exceptionally good dancer.

"Dancing with him was tough. He wouldn't rehearse and just takes a minute or two to do a step. Even though I've danced with actors, it wasn't the same with NTR," she said.

"Nannaku Prematho" is the first release of the year for Rakul, treats all her projects equally.

"Before the release of my film, small or big, the feeling is always the same," she said.

She is currently shooting for Allu Arjun-starrer Telugu actioner "Sarainodu". She will next team up with Nithiin for a yet-untitled project in the language.