Radhika Apte on issues like nepotism, pay parity and airport looks
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 15, 2019)

Last year, you acted in three films—Pad Man, AndhaDhun, Baazaar and three digital shows. Life sure is hectic.
(Laughs) It is, but now I’m on a script-reading break. The hunt is on for interesting content.

Was it a conscious move to associate yourself with indie cinema and off-beat content?
It wasn’t a plan if that’s what you are saying. The reason to do a film is the script, the director and character and what I am looking for at that point of time. It needs to challenge me.

After Badlapur and AndhaDhun, any plans to collaborate with Sriram Raghavan again?
People don’t discuss work without a bound script. He has been writing something for a while now, but I have no idea what his next film is.

Your recently released Hollywood film, The Wedding Guest, met with mixed reactions…
(Cuts in) Every film meets with mixed reactions—some love it, some hate it and some are neutral. It’s their opinion, one can only take constructive criticism in a positive way. (Director) Michael Winterbottom’s films are always been different and so evoke mixed reactions. That’s what prompted me to work with him.

How different is the work culture abroad?
People there are always on time and they pay on time. These are the two significant differences.

Next up, a Hollywood spy thriller set against World War II with you playing Noor Inayat Khan, the first female wireless operator to be flown into occupied France. When can we hope to see it in India?
It’s not a very big film and I’ve no idea if the producers plan to release it in India.

Back home too, many women-centric films are being made.
Yes, things have changed, but it needs to be on a much bigger scale. Even today, there is a yawning gap between films with male and female protagonists.

What’s your opinion on pay parity?
If Salman Khan brings in Rs 200 crore and I bring in not even a crore, it’s obvious that he’ll be paid more since he is adding value to the box-office. I don’t dispute that but I have an issue with actors who don’t contribute to ticket sales. Hey, even the mother of a lead character is paid lesser than the father. That needs to change.

And as an outsider, how do you react to nepotism?
I don’t like the word outsider. If I’m a director and my son wants to be an actor, why shouldn’t I launch him? The industry today is a blend of both worlds. On one hand there’s Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut who were not born into a film family but have made it big and then there are the star kids. I like that abroad you can go to drama school and then for auditions like everyone else for a role. It’s a fair playing ground there. With casting directors in Bollywood, things are changing here too.

What about airport looks, how much of a pressure is it to look good?
I don’t consider that a part of my job. I don’t need to wear fancy clothes to the airport, I’m not at work there.

That’s a honest reply…
(Laughs) I can’t keep my mouth shut when something warrants an honest opinion. There are times when I know I should have kept mum, but I just can’t. 

Touted as the web world’s blue-eyed girl, Radhika Apte says she yearns for more work since her acclaimed shows have only seen her play second fiddle
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 26, 2018)

Three consecutive Netflix offerings later, Radhika Apte is set to return to the big screen with AndhaDhun. Giving her nod to Sriram Raghavan’s thriller, which revolves around a blind protagonist’s run- in with the law, she says, was a no-brainer. “He can call me anytime and tell me to do a film. I’ll blindly say yes,” she says of the director, who she credits for creating unpredictable plot lines. “The way he scripts his films is crazy. He inspires [his artistes], which is amazing.”

Having featured in web shows like Lust Stories, Sacred Games and Ghoul, Apte is evidently being touted as the digital world’s lucky charm. Yet, the actor doesn’t take her success seriously. She argues, her roles in the acclaimed shows were bit-sized. “I was part of one segment [of the four-part anthology film] Lust Stories. I played a small part in Sacred Games. Ghoul was the only show that saw me in the lead. If I was running the three shows, I would have felt a different kind of high. So, there is a lot more to do. I don’t feel satisfied at all.”

Yet, what she has on offer are projects that many in the industry would yearn for. She talks about English filmmaker Michael Winterbottom’s The Wedding Guest, and American producer Lydia Dean Pilcher’s untitled female-driven World War II spy drama, with palpable excitement. “Only few Asian actresses get to play lead roles in non-Indian films. We rarely get the opportunity to be cast in them. I have got the taste [of such success], but I want more.”

Speaking to mid-day at the launch of True Roots Botanical Hair Tonic, the actor reveals that a second edition of her horror, Ghoul, is likely to roll. “The subtext allows for a second season. But, it is the makers who would know if that’s possible.”