'Irrfan Khan taught me how to be a good co-actor': Rasika Dugal on the film that shaped her career

how to, 'irrfan khan taught me how to be a good co-actor': rasika dugal on the film that shaped her career

'Irrfan Khan taught me how to be a good co-actor': Rasika Dugal on the film that shaped her career

From her captivating portrayals on television to her riveting performances on the silver screen and in the digital realm, Rasika Dugal has carved a niche for herself as a versatile and compelling actress with standout performances in (2013), (2018), and (2018). In , she portrayed the role of Kanwar Singh, a character struggling with gender identity issues, which earned her widespread praise from critics and audiences alike. In a conversation with wknd., we delve into the multifaceted journey of the actor — from her humble beginnings to her breakthrough roles with a repertoire that spans across genres and platforms.

As we unravel the layers of her acting prowess and delve into her insights into the craft, Rasika reflects on her fleeting encounters with the city. Despite her frequent work-related trips, the actor confesses to having only experienced Dubai in transit or during film festivals and expresses her desire to explore it further, perhaps even trying out skydiving on her next visit!

I haven't been here much. Every time I come, it's for work, and it's always a fly-in, fly-out kind of visit. The last time I was here, I was just in transit to Abu Dhabi for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. In 2011, I was here for the Dubai Film Festival, and we stayed in a place called Madinat Jumeirah. That place was so big it took me two days just to navigate it. I haven't seen much of the city at all, but I would love to explore it another time and maybe go skydiving.

I grew up in a small town called Jamshedpur, and it was quite an idyllic childhood. There was no traffic, plenty of open spaces to play, and many films to watch. It was quite a fun time. You knew everybody in the town, so it never felt unknown or strange. It's a very well-planned and beautiful city. I can't really recall how my days went by because most of my time just went by ‘being’ and not ‘doing’ much. After growing up in Jamshedpur, I went to university in Delhi, then Mumbai, and later attended film school in Pune, at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). And now, I’ve been working as an actor in Mumbai for almost 17 years.

I think it's becoming harder and harder to just be, not just in the city, but in the world. There are a million things vying for your attention, and they are very easily accessible, like a phone. As soon as you think about something, you can reach for your phone and execute it. You haven't even finished that thought or mulled over it as long as you would have if that device wasn't there. But this is the reality of our times.

Interestingly, I find it very easy to disconnect from everything else when I'm shooting. In fact, I actively seek that experience. That is my meditation. When I say that, I'm laughing because if you look at a film set, it's anything but a meditative space—it's chaos. But I am able to find time to be with myself in that space.

When you're a student, you don't really know what you can do or can’t do. You're very unaware of your strengths and weaknesses, and you can explore so much. At FTII, I was mesmerised by the space a lot. The Film Institute is located where Prabhat Studios used to be, one of the first studios of Indian cinema. There was a legend at the institute that if you sat under a tree called The Wisdom Tree, you would learn everything about cinema.

I did. But there were some people who only sat there FTII had a very rich library, and I remember spending most of my free time looking through artwork. I found that very inspiring for my work. Every evening, we would watch a film, either at the Film Institute or at the National Film Archives, which unfortunately shut down a couple of years ago. When I heard that news, it was heartbreaking because it was a place where I watched so much good cinema. I watched The Shawshank Redemption on print. The time you had to explore and watch films as a student was invaluable. There's nothing to lose when you're a student, and that freedom is so liberating.

After I finished my three-year degree in mathematics at Delhi University, the one thing I knew was that I didn't want to pursue mathematics (laughs). I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew what I didn't want to do, and that's a start, I guess. Much like other decisions in my life, this one happened pretty much by chance. I had attended a workshop at LSR College in Delhi and coincidentally watched a couple of clips from by Satyajit Ray. I was mesmerised by the film.

Then there was a workshop on conflict resolution, where they used cinema to explain concepts, and I found it fascinating that cinema could be understood and dissected in that way. One day, I saw in the newspaper that FTII was restarting their acting course and just decided to apply, still not with the idea that I wanted to become an actor. I just thought, ‘This sounds like fun. Let's go’. But within six months, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for a really long time.

Yes, especially when you've done many other things, you know that this is different. If I hadn't flitted around so much, doing different things and exploring, I wouldn't have realised how special this was for me. I've never looked back since then. Even through the toughest times in this career, I've never thought that I shouldn't have been an actor. Finding something you truly want to do doesn't happen for everyone, so I feel like it was a gift for me.

It's clearly a film like , which I was very fortunate to be a part of early on in my career. This was a film that I did with Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, and Tillotama Shome—wonderful actors—and with a wonderful director, Anup Singh, who really knew how to give an actor that space. In the middle of chaos, you find that moment with yourself, with your co-actors, or with your director. Had I not had that experience, I wouldn't have known it. I could have easily fallen into things that were just chaotic and wouldn’t have known how to find that space.

I also learned a lot from Irrfan, Tisca, and Tillotama about how to be a good co-actor. For instance, Irrfan was much more experienced at the time I worked with him. He was a well-known actor, and his work was being celebrated. Despite his upward trajectory, not for a single moment during the shoot did I ever feel that he was looking down on me or being patronising in any way. It was a true collaboration, and I felt like an equal. From those experiences, I learned how to be with someone in a scene, no matter what the dynamics or hierarchies are otherwise.

Throughout the years that I've worked, I've seen these two worlds move ahead simultaneously, intersect, and diverge. All of that has occurred. When I began working, there was a film called , which did well at that time. It started the notion of the one crore film, where people felt they could make a film on a smaller budget. Additionally, things were transitioning to digital. Many production houses sprang up with groundbreaking content, and they managed to produce it. I was a part of many such ‘indie’ films.

However, distribution remained a bottleneck because nobody knew how these films would see the light of day. Then there were initiatives that tried to get those films out to audiences. Then, the streaming services emerged, which celebrated content that is not formulaic. Now, there is both formulaic and non-formulaic content in the streaming space. So, I've seen all of that happen.

Definitely, because I think in the initial years, it was really a space where newness was encouraged in every way, whether it was new stories, new content, new directors, new writers, or new actors. But of course, the formula sets in very quickly once you have success. So far, I think we're seeing a little bit of both in the streaming space, and I think that's still healthy. Everything can't be breaking barriers.

I don't think I can realistically keep myself away from it. Every actor has their own journey. Some actors refuse to do promotions, and they're comfortable with that. Personally, I've looked at it as part of the overall experience. It's like when I'm on a film set and I need a moment to really be within myself. Initially, I would struggle to find that space amidst the chaos, wondering if I should isolate myself, or listen to music. But I quickly realised that to truly be with myself, I have to accept everything happening around me. I can't reject any experience. So, I look at all the extra aspects like promotions as something that gives me opportunities to do something different. It helps me explore a side of myself that I might not have otherwise.

Wow, I'd love to be Beena Tripathi all my life (laughs). But unfortunately, there’s nothing I can tell you about Season 3, except that it's going to come out very soon. Some other projects have been shot, some are doing festival rounds. There's a film called with Gulshan Devaiah. Then there's a new series that I worked on last year, still in post-production, where I play a very sassy, spunky role. I got a new haircut, so it's a new look for me, and I'm excited to watch that. Also, there's Delhi Crime season 3, which I'm scheduled to shoot for this year. So, a bunch of exciting things.

OTHER NEWS

19 minutes ago

Victims’ group urges no U-turn on plans for former Maze Prison site

20 minutes ago

Lefties losing it: Jerry Seinfeld heckled by ‘anti-Israeli activists’ at Australian show

20 minutes ago

The biggest question about Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs was just answered

20 minutes ago

Julia Quinn Breaks Silence on Bridgerton's Gender-Swap Twist After Backlash

20 minutes ago

Everything leaving Netflix in July 2024

20 minutes ago

‘Terrible’: Paul Murray reveals the ‘big fear’ about vaping

21 minutes ago

Live updates: Julian Assange arrives for plea deal hearing in Saipan

21 minutes ago

Cargo ship draws Suez Canal blockage comparisons after becoming stuck in Cambridge river

21 minutes ago

England player ratings vs Slovenia: Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer make impact after Conor Gallagher nightmare

21 minutes ago

Concrete interest: Palace could use Olise fee to land dream Eze partner

21 minutes ago

Smiling robot face is made from living human skin cells

21 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters face off at new Montreal encampment

21 minutes ago

‘How do you justify that?’: Incoming Governor-General’s $200k pay rise amid cost of living crisis

21 minutes ago

Justice Department urges Supreme Court to decide if felons can be barred from having a gun

21 minutes ago

King Hosts Japanese Royals at Glittering State Banquet

21 minutes ago

Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers: who owns the team?

21 minutes ago

Eva Longoria, 49, reveals she's proud of her 'very cultured' six-year-old son Santiago who 'understands and appreciates other cultures'

21 minutes ago

Manchester United 'close to £27m Erik ten Hag deal' as Manuel Ugarte bid tabled

21 minutes ago

The new £110,500 BMW M5 is a 717bhp plug-in hybrid that weighs as much as a Bentley

21 minutes ago

NHS weight loss services unable to keep up with spiralling demand

21 minutes ago

IRS apologizes to Ken Griffin and thousands of Americans for tax data leak

21 minutes ago

LARRY KUDLOW: Why is President Biden so 'intent on disrespecting' the Supreme Court?

21 minutes ago

2024 Chicago Pride Parade: New timing, route, closures and more

21 minutes ago

Cramer's Lightning Round: Hartford Financial Services Group ‘can go even higher'

21 minutes ago

How will Ald. Ed Burke pay his $2 million fine after his sentencing?

21 minutes ago

Dallas Mayor will host 28th annual Back to School Fair in August, register now

21 minutes ago

Houston public official accused of misusing millions in public funds

21 minutes ago

Reports: Jim Schlossnagle to leave Texas A&M for head coach job at Texas

21 minutes ago

VERIFY: Yes, In Texas, pedestrians have to yield to vehicles in some cases

24 minutes ago

England in line for more criticism after bore draw confirms their passage to the final 16 of the Euros

24 minutes ago

Data centers, EVs to significantly boost US power load by 2030, consultancy says

27 minutes ago

Woman gets help from NBC 5 Responds after fraudsters hacked her Facebook account selling fake Taylor Swift concert tickets

27 minutes ago

DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought to the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network

27 minutes ago

Source: Jim Schlossnagle leaving Texas A&M for Texas baseball job

29 minutes ago

After a June filled with rain, mosquitoes are on the horizon for Regina

29 minutes ago

Inaugural downtown Calgary office-to-residential project called an instant success

29 minutes ago

Can't stop the (classical) music

32 minutes ago

Dallas City Council may consider weed legalization amendment for voter approval

32 minutes ago

Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500 ends 3-day decline: Live updates

32 minutes ago

Aussies feel social media fails to stop 'scam war'