Rakul Preet Singh: Lesser known facts about the 'Aiyaary' actress

Rakul Preet Singh is a famous name down South. And now, the actress is securing a strong foothold over Bollywood too. The dainty actress, who made her Hindi film debut with 'Yaariyan' in 2014 is back after four years to work her charm in her second Bollywood film 'Aiyaary' alongside Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee, and Pooja Chopra. Here are few lesser known facts about Rakul.

Rakul's father Rajender Singh and her mother Kulwinder Singh allegedly came up with the idea that their daughter should bear both their names. As it isn't practical to have both names, they combined the first syllables of their names. You know what happened next...

Rakul is all set to feature in her second Bollywood film 'Aiyaary', which is a crime drama based on a real-life incident revolving around two strong-minded army officers having contrary yet right views in their own ways. Incidentally, Rakul happens to be a Fauji kid in reality. Her father served in the Indian Army. Born into a Punjabi family in New Delhi, Rakul did her schooling from Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan and later studied mathematics at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi.

Rakul Preet Singh, who apparently always dreamt of being an actress, began her career in modelling at the age of 18, while still in college. In 2009 she made her acting debut in the Kannada film 'Gilli'. Rakul reportedly stated that she signed up the film "with the aim to earn a little extra pocket money" and that she was unaware of "how big south Indian films were". She won critical acclaim for her role in the film before returning to complete her degree and compete in the 2011 Femina Miss India pageant.

Rakul has been an active golf player and has played at the national level. It was her father who reportedly urged her to take up the sport. The 'Aiyaary' actress allegedly stated that she took up golf not knowing that she would become a professional player one day, leading her to play for the Women’s Nationals. Rakul went on to add that although she loves the sport, she always knew she couldn’t make a career out of it and gave up the sport because she wanted to be in showbiz.

The actress, in her childhood, reportedly participated in many sports activities. From lawn tennis to golfing, Rakul took up many activities. She allegedly started training in karate when she was in her second grade. She even received the blue belt.

Rakul was encouraged by her parents to pursue interests beyond her academics. Due to that encouragement, she developed a strong spirit and learnt how to ride a horse. Soon, after mastering the art, she became a die-hard fan of the activity. She rides a horse whenever she can.

Rakul, who shifted base to Hyderabad following her assignments down South, has been living there for quite some time now. The actress reportedly has an active franchise of three functional training gyms. Two of them are in Hyderabad located in Gachibowli and Kokapet and one in Visakhapatnam.

Rakul Preet is a fitness freak and does everything in her capacity to stay fit. Not many know that she is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and practices the art whenever she gets time. With her beautiful features and svelte figure, Rakul sure has it in her to add grace to the art form.