A story that resonates with young women
Rukshar talks about her maiden success
Rukshar Dhillon is ecstatic that her latest release Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam is getting acclaim. She says things didn’t go as she wanted earlier, but this film has changed it all. “I feel empowered by this success,” she says, adding that it had proved that hard work and a sensible choice of script pay off.
She believed that the script has the potential to be a box office winner. Now looking at the film’s success, she feels vindicated.
“I think my character Madhavi resonated with today’s girls. The emotional arc, maturity and what she stands for in the film made the character attractive,” she explains.
“Personally, the weaker the roles I do, the more vulnerable I become, so I don’t want to give such a message,” she adds.
Rukshar believes that there are several girls out there who don’t have the courage to speak up for themselves about marriage. She reveals that she personally went through such a situation and felt helpless. She recalls a few of her
friends and relatives going through similar experiences too.
“So when my character Madhavi stood up saying that she wasn’t interested in an arranged marriage, it resonated with many girls because generally in an arranged marriage people look for status and families, they are least bothered about a girl’s opinion,” she says.
Acknowledging that several arranged marriages have worked well, she however, clarifies that the point she wanted to drive home is that girls should speak up if they don’t like the partner chosen for them. In a marriage, the partners’ approval and acceptance of each other matters more than families, she stresses.
“I want women to speak up not just after marriage but before the marriage too if they are unhappy,” she says.
“I had to give up what I learnt as Rukshar to be like Madhavi; but that’s the beauty of films,” she shares. “The emotional journey and the transformation of becoming Madhavi was very challenging.
In that context we ask her what she looks for in a life-partner.
“I want my guy to be wellbehaved, honest and empathetic,’ she says.
And going forward, Rukshar wants to do films where the stories are good and have great commercial scope too.
“As much as I love working with experienced directors, I also relish working with young directors because their fresh perspectives make us look at scripts differently,” she says, signing off.
— Rukshar Dhillon