Known for her roles in several shows and movies, including Mirzapur, Made In Heaven and Delhi Crime, among others, Rasika Dugal credits Delhi as the city where she was first introduced to theatre. 

The actress, who pursued a degree in mathematics in 2004 from Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), says, “My first introduction to any serious theatre was in LSR. At that time, it was just a way for me to fit into college. I hail from Jamshedpur and when I came to college, I saw everyone was so well-informed and doing multiple things. I used to feel I didn’t know enough. All the cool people in college used to be in the drama society, so even I wanted to be cool and be a part of it, so I auditioned and was cast for a play by theatre director Anamika Haksar, who has also made a film now. I had the opportunity to work with some enthusiastic and lovely women in college, so my cinematic journey started at LSR. My world opened up there, my first introduction to good work on stage started from college, and then Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) took it further,” says the actress.

Recalling some of her fondest memories of the city, Rasika says, “I was in the LSR hostel and most of my best memories about Delhi are very food-related. Whenever I am in Delhi, I want to try something new. Our hot favourite back in college used to be the paranthe wala at Moolchand. In fact, when I came to shoot for Delhi Crime’s first season, I went back to Moolchand just to have the paranthas. Back then, there used to be a little stall that would pack paranthas in a newspaper. I also remember how my friends and I would save and divide our pocket money and bahut soch soch kar hum hot chocolate fudge khaate thay.”

A cinema buff, the actress says she would stand in long queues to get a cheaper ticket at a Saket cinema hall. She says, “Back then, the ticket for these front rows – which were available at a separate counter – cost 7! My friends and I would stand in queues for three to four hours, just to buy those tickets. Since none of us had enough money at that point, we would shop at Greater Kailash M Block market and wear each other’s clothes. We would also go to Bengali Market for chhole kulche.”

“Every time I am in Delhi, it is a rushed trip, and I always feel I need to come back to the city for a food trip, especially in winter. The food is simply outstanding. In fact, even in between interviews during my recent visit to Delhi, at the hotel, I could smell some amazing aroma of dal makhani and I couldn’t resist ordering one for myself. I have a lot of friends and family members in Delhi. I ensure I meet a different set so that I can meet all of them whenever I am in the city,” she says.

“Projects in the streaming space have broken the set formula. The gusto with which content is being consumed across genres is proof of the fact that the audience was always ready to embrace new and interesting content,” says Rasika, adding, “I am happy to see that in the last few years, after streaming became popular, it is not just three or four actors that have had successful shows; every month there is a new show, so there seems to be a room for everyone. There is an opportunity for everybody, be it in terms of genre or talent, there is no dearth.”

However, there are cons to every medium and OTT is no exception. Rasika says, “There is a clutter of content, and not everything that is written for streaming services is of top-notch quality. Some shows or films are mediocre too. Once a show gets successful, there is a need to come up with subsequent seasons quickly but I hope that time is given to maintain the quality that they have come up with. We should not fall into the trap of producing subsequent seasons at such speed that it impacts the quality of a show in any way.”