Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Live
People tend to put actors in a box, says Rasika Dugal
Actor Rasika Dugal’s filmography mainly consists of art house cinema. She has received praises and accolades for her hard-hitting performances in films such as Thanks Maa (2010), Qissa (2015) and now the recently released film, Manto.
Ask her if doing mainstream films is not part of her plan, and she says, “I have been waiting for that [kind of an] offer. I am open to every kind of cinema and I do not judge/compare one kind of cinema to another.
As an actor, the more opportunities you have and the more varied it gets, [the experience] becomes enriching,” says Rasika, who plays the role of Safia, the late poet-activist Manto’s wife in her recently released movie.
While many actors do not let the bug of getting typecast affect them, but it surely is one of the sneaky problems that catch up with a lot of artists.
In the case of Rasika, can being a critically-acclaimed actor and not a mainstream heroine go against her? For which she says, “I wonder why that should worry them (filmmakers). If I have established myself as a good actor then they should only be more keen to take me [in their projects]. Sometimes, people feel comfortable putting [other] people in boxes. I don’t think that we as creative people, should fall into the trap.”
About taking up commercial films, Rasika says, “I am not shutting out any conversations but so far whatever roles have been offered to me in mainstream cinema has not been very meaty or the scripts have not been very interesting. That is why I have said no to them.”
The 33 -year-old actor also feels that the lines between these demarcations are blurring and she feels “every art house artist should have the experience of working in a big budget mainstream film and vice versa.”
People feel comfortable putting [other] people in boxes. I don’t think that we as creative people, should fall into the trap.
RASIKA DUGAL ACTOR