‘TO DO GOOD WORK YOU HAVE TO BE FAMOUS’
Radhika Apte says soul-searching in the lockdown helped her realise she wants to do projects which bring her joy
strong. Some of his peers and friends also contracted the virus and that has also shaken him up. He shares, “I heard about (actor) Anirudh Dave’s condition and it was scary. I was not okay with going on set to shoot... I told them that I was scared and want to go back to Mumbai. But the production team ensured me that we’d maintain all protocols and strictly follow guidelines.”
Besides the pandemic and work being stalled, the news about natural calamities is
The lockdown last year and the forced break brought upon us again due to the second wave of the pandemic, have given many people a chance to reflect on their lives. Actor Radhika Apte too has been on a journey of self discovery and credits it for helping her realise that, what is missing from her career, is joy.
In the race to become famous, Apte admits she lost touch with her reason of entering the industry, which was to do ‘good work’. The pause, as a result of the pandemic, forced her to confront many questions. ”All this chasing and becoming famous, does it give me exactly what I want to do? (I realised) that’s not necessarily true,” she confesses.
Recalling her initial days in Mumbai, Apte, 35, explains how one decision led to a chain and often made her do things that she wasn’t entirely convinced about. It was in 2005 that Apte entered the industry with a small role in Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, and went on to star in films such as Shor In The City (2011), Badlapur
(2015), Kabali (2016), Andhadhun and Pad Man (both 2018). She also created a name in the OTT space with Sacred Games, Lust Stories, and most recently, OK Computer.
Looking back at her career, she shares, “I wanted to do good work but to be able to do those projects you need to be famous. There’s always competition, so you need to be more visible. Then you start doing projects that are going to make you famous, but not really happy. Then you get more such projects, and find it difficult to say no,” she shares.
Now, she just wants to follow her curiosity, and doesn’t mind rejections on the way. “Even today, there are projects I want to do, and I approach them and I get rejected over and over again. Somewhere, these rejections have become a part and parcel of my day. I’ve learned to accept it and move on quickly,” says the actor. As she tries to find new meaning to her career, she muses, “You ask yourself how much of it I really enjoy (or enjoyed). Turns out there’s very little, which I realised during the lockdown.”
The stalling of shoots and work coming to a halt in the entertainment industry yet again has taken a toll on the livelihoods of many. Actor Himani Shivpuri points out that the stress is much more for the older actors, as they don’t have any income to fall back on at the time of such a crisis.
“It’s very tough. We actors, especially the older ones, earn only when we work. But now, with work not happening, it’s a struggle. We have nothing to fall back on,” she rues, adding, “They call this an industry but it hasn’t been given the status of film industry nor does it function like one. Our income now is zero as there’s no work, but is it our fault?”
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