As an actor, I desire that my work resonates with people: Rasika Dugal
Rasika Dugal is all for movies releasing on OTT as she doesn’t “forsee a situation, at least not in the next few months, when theatres can open safely”. The Delhi Crime actor says it’s wonderful that there seems to be room for everyone in the OTT space. “The fate of your film is not decided over a weekend and therefore, the film is not really competing with other films that release alongside,” she states.
The actor has been steadily rising in her career, especially in the last few years. With a number of conversations about the ‘star vs the actor’ in showbiz, ask her if she sees herself as a star or an actor and she says, “I don’t see them as mutually exclusive. Therefore, the conversation on star ‘vs’ actor eludes me. I rarely aspire to things that are beyond my control. I can attempt to do my job well, hone my skills, seek different and challenging experiences and invite experiences which require me to live a life beyond my own. That, to my mind, is the job of an actor. Of course, I also desire that my work resonate with people and that it reaches a wide audience. If that happens, I am thrilled! But once I have done my work as an actor, there is little that I can do about the rest. So, I don’t preoccupy myself with questions of how ‘successful’ the work is going to be or whether people would consider me a ‘star’ or not.”
Dugal admits that she has no mantra of managing the highs and lows in this profession. And that she has learnt to not take either too seriously.
“It is easier said than done, but knowing so, is a good start. I am lucky to have people around me who make me feel special even when
I am not having the best time. And people who can check me on my pompousness while simultaneously not taking away from my joy of feeling a sense of achievement about something. Working on finding this balance on my own is always a work in progress and will always be. On most days, it helps that my preoccupations lie with what I feel I have learnt or not and how I can improve on that rather than anything else. It’s not easy to live with those preoccupations either. But possibly they are the more productive ones,” she adds.