Radhika Apte, as an actress and now a filmmaker, has etched a special place for herself in the film industry. Playing edgy characters and layering them with her nuances could almost be seen as her signature style of working. Over the last several years, Radhika has shown variety in her work with films like Shor In The City, AndhaDhun, Padman, Phobia and Baazaar among others, which have also had theatrical runs.

In a recent chat with her, we asked her if she felt a sense of responsibility towards younger girls, aspiring to follow her career path to create a space of their own. Radhika said, “I don’t feel responsible because I am who I am, and what I have seen is a part of my journey, based on the decisions I made for myself. If I change my opinion about something, and my choices don’t work and I fail, I need the space to make certain alterations. My decisions are entirely based on what I am going through at a said time. I don’t make decisions keeping others in mind and what their takeaways could be from my work.”

Radhika has always played by her own rules, which gave her room to think differently and make choices that were different from the herd. Bring this up and she said, “I don’t feel the need to conform to the rules of the business I operate in. I don’t think you can follow rules without asking questions. I don’t follow things that don’t make sense to me. What I feel about something and how I think, changes with time. Even my opinion changes on the basis of my experiences. Rules made in the business were made for a different reason and at a different time. The rules in the business are not changing with time, so you have to ask the right questions instead of blindly following something.”