It’s been a very hectic past year for Rasika Dugal, for she has been shooting for projects one after the other with hardly any breaks. But, the actor, who is shooting for the third season of the web show Mirzapur at present, has no complaints.

“I started a hectic run of shoots from September 2021. And then it went on, almost continuously, because I had committed to so many things. All of those pending projects, makers wanted to shoot, there was panic to get things done. And much of what I had thought as well-spaced out for myself, ended up being back to back,” she tells us.

Last seen in the short film The Miniaturist Of Junagadh, Dugal, 37, adds: “June is the only month I got a breather. It was quite relaxing. In September, I shot for two new series back to back. One is a sports drama on volleyball, called Spike, and is in post production. Then, I shot for Delhi Crime season two... Up next is a film I had committed to pre-pandemic!”

While the variety is noticeable, more so in terms of how she isn’t sticking to franchises, Dugal says she aims to balance both.

“There is a travel show I did, and after that, another shoot till April end... I only stopped in January for some days because of the Omicron scare, but it was crazy after that,” she recalls.

When Spike came her way, Rasika Dugal instantly said yes to the project, eager to realise her long-standing wish of being part of a sports drama. That she was a novice at volleyball would not deter her from essaying the role of a volleyball coach on screen. The actor, instead, viewed the Nishtha Shailajan and Dhaval Shah-helmed show as both — a challenge, and an opportunity to pick up a new skill.

“I trained in volleyball for three months. I can’t claim to have learnt a new sport in [such a short] time because that is nearly impossible when you haven’t had previous exposure to it. But I started from scratch, and now I am hooked to the game,” exclaims Dugal, who has headed Palampur to film the second schedule of the series.

The actor, who believes in prepping extensively for her characters, not only took to the volleyball court with a vengeance, but also integrated the sport into her daily life. “I didn’t want to limit it only to the time I trained for it. So, I started following numerous Instagram handles on the sport, and of a few international players. Now, every time I look at my phone, there is a notification related to volleyball,” she laughs.