Rasika to star in India’s first improvised film

This film is the most fun experience I have had in a while. There are a million ways a scene can go... I simply have to turn up on the sets and have some fun. RASIKA DUGAL ACTOR

Actor Rasika Dugal’s next project is not only a good story but a great concept too. The actor, who was last seen in Manto this year, is going to be part of India’s first completely improvised film.

An improvised film is one where the director has an idea of the story but the scenes, dialogues and other things are mounted on the sets while the shoot is on. This is what makes the film unique. The lack of a compulsive structure gives the actors a sense of immense freedom to live as the characters. Moreover, the shoot of the film is linear, which means each scene has to be shot in the sequence of its appearance in the film and can’t be done sporadically.

The format, common in Hollywood, has yet to become familiar in India. Hollywood films such as American Hustle and Blue Valentine have been shot in improvised formats.

Rasika, seen in several films and on TV over the years, is now starring in the film tentatively titled Fairy Folk. “This film is the most fun experience I have had in a while. There are a million ways a scene can go and so many different paths that a scene can take before achieving what it is meant to. So while there is an intent to every scene, how we achieve that goal is free flowing and improvised. There is no written dialogue. I think improvised dialogue is so crazy and beautifully illogical — a quality which very few and extremely skilled writers are able to achieve with scripted lines. It is a delight to play off actors who have an appetite for improvisation. I simply have to turn up on set and have some fun,” adds Rasika.

Actor Rasika Dugal was last seen in the critically acclaimed Manto earlier this year