Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 18, 2020)

Every success story has its share of highs and lows. Radhika Madan’s story too, isn’t different. While at the outset it might look like she had a smooth ride with the successful TV show, Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi, and then getting to work in Pataakha (2018), Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (2019) and now Angrezi Medium and Shiddat, but the discouragement she faced while making the shift from TV to films gave her sleepless nights. She even went through a phase of self doubt.

“I was completely engrossed in Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi and enjoyed the process, but I felt somewhere something was missing. As a performer, I wanted to do something different and decided to give films a shot,” she says. And the moment people around her learned of her intentions, Radhika shares how many “discouraged” her decision. “They were like nobody from TV makes it to films easily. When I would give the examples of Shah Rukh Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput, they would tell me that there are exceptions. ‘When you are earning so well here [on TV], why do you want to let that comfort go and become a struggler in Bollywood? You might not make it, it’s not an easy space to survive’, they said. I got upset and started pondering about my decision but then thought of giving it a try and got Pataakha and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota after several auditions… Even then, I was told, ‘Yeh toh shuruat hai, aagey dekho kya hota hai,’ and the like,” adds the actor.

And she reveals it was a rather strange incident which drew her to cinema in the first place. While shooting a scene for her TV show, Radhika felt her character needed to do more and decided to discuss her ideas with the director. However, the latter did not encourage her much.

“I started discussing the scene, but he was really impatient, constantly looking at his watch. Finally he told me, ‘Radhika, jab hum movie karenge na to ek scene ke upar teen din tak discussion karenge, par abhi shoot kar sakte hain kya kyunki samay kam hai’. I understood that, given there’s much less time in hand on a daily show, and it’s all about telecast, but that thing actually stuck with me. And it also made me realise that either you earn money and enjoy your safety or you’ve to struggle because you get time to enjoy the process of creating a character, adapting a story... I had slogged really hard on TV and now wanted to do more. So I thought I would rather give up on my security if it makes me sleep peacefully at night,” she adds.

As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 4, 2019)

When I was in standard eight, my friend joined Ashely Lobo’s dance institute in Delhi and urged me to enrol as well. As a child, I would look at myself all day in the mirror believing that I was the prettiest girl in the world. But as soon as I stepped into the dance school, my confidence would fly out of the window. Fortunately, I had a great instructor who not only boosted my sagging morale, but often called me to join the front row of performers, making me stare at myself in the mirror while practising. This exercise helped me a lot, and once I got into the groove, I fell in love with dance.

I stayed with the school for years, picking up different dance forms, including street and commercial jazz, jazz funk and ballet, hip-hop and contemporary. I picked up really fast and two years later, I was promoted from student to an instructor on probation. After a year, I auditioned for a permanent space at the school and passed with flying colours. I was in Standard 11 at the time and worked as an instructor for a year-and-a-half after that.

I remember one of my first choreographed performances was on a medley of international songs. It was such a thrill to watch my students get into the costume and line up in the wings, impatient to get on stage. A bigger high was when my name was announced as the choreographer for the set. I was overwhelmed!

Teaching never felt like work to me because I had discovered myself at the school and remembering those struggling days, I helped boost the confidence of my students. I would tell them to enter my class feeling like a star. I had the beginners’ batch and we soon developed a close bond. My students would decorate the studio and get me gifts and cake on my birthdays. Some even drew me handmade cards. Their parents too appreciated my efforts.

I was hesitant about accepting money because I was getting to learn so much there. That was more than enough for me. However, one event fetched me my first earning, a princely sum of Rs 800. I gave the cheque to my father who got very emotional. He still hasn’t encashed that cheque.

My plan back then was to go abroad and learn tap dancing, travel the world and start my own dance institute eventually. However, one fine day I got a message on Facebook informing that Balaji Telefilms was coming to Delhi to audition for one of their shows. I went for that audition and my life changed forever.

Actually, it wasn’t all that smooth. I used to watch shows like Crime Petrol and Gumrah at the time. So, when I got the message, I thought, someone was fooling around with me. I took two friends, both boys brandishing hockey sticks, with me to the audition. When we reached the venue, I was surprised to realise that it was an actual audition. I thought I had performed really badly. I don’t know what they saw in me because three days later, I got a call from them inviting me to Mumbai for a look test. This time my dad accompanied me. A few days after the look test, I was shooting for my first TV show, Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi.

After entering the industry, I did struggle with thumkas as I was trained in international dance forms and here it is more about the facial expressions. So, instead of following hip-hop and tap dancers on YouTube as I used to, I now started observing Govinda ji, Sridevi ji and Madhuri (Dixit) ji closely on screen and became their fan. I am an actress today and I love what I do, but one day, I plan to go abroad and fulfil my dream of learning dance there. Meanwhile, I have hired an instructor in Mumbai to teach me tap dancing. I love it.