After her last few hit web shows, Rasika Dugal is thrilled to be playing a lead in a new project, says she would be physical exhausted on certain days
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 26, 2019)

In the last one-and-a-half years Rasika Dugal has appeared in diverse web shows including Mirzapur, Delhi Crime, and Humoursly Yours, among others. Currently working on Mirzapur 2, Delhi Crime 2, A Suitable Boy and other projects, the actor explains why the high of playing the lead in a project is unparalleled. She also talks about the time she didn’t have good roles but was busy nevertheless. Excerpts:

After noteworthy character roles in various web shows and films, was it a high to play a lead in your latest web show?
Years ago, I played the lead in Kshay (2011), which was a character-driven role. It was a true blue indie film as we shot it when we had money, or on weekends, and we hoped that one day, our stories would make for good conversations. I thought my role in Qissa (2015) was a lead part as I never thought it was a supporting role. But if we are talking about a story that revolves around a character then after Kshay, my first lead role would be in this new web show.

How was the experience of shooting the series?
In the last one-and-a-half years, I was thrilled to have had exciting roles in some varied and interesting projects. But I also wanted to sink my teeth into a role that drives the narrative. So, when this web show came, the actor me felt satisfied. You relate to some characters instantly, and my role in Manto (2018) was one such role. Playing the lead in this show was exciting and challenging, but also rigourous work as I was in almost every scene. Shooting for a lead role is exhausting, especially in a web show. I shot for 50 days out of the 53 days of total shoot. Due to extreme physical exhaustion on certain days, I had to rely on my instincts while acting.

Though you started acting in 2007, your career seems to have taken off in the last two years. It must have been tough to wait for roles that showcased your talent?
I was always busy doing something or the other in Mumbai, so it never felt that way. I did a lot of theatre including The Vagina Monologues for nine years, and also did work that was not well-recognised at that point. The gap between film and theatre roles was trying at times. Like the gap between Kshay, Qissa and Manto was tough, and I was dying to do more work though I did many small roles in many films in the beginning of my career even though people advised me against it. They felt people won’t give me better roles if I didn’t do short roles, but I felt acting is the only way to show people what I can do. I did TV shows like Powder and Kismat, too. 

Actor Avantika Akerkar’s life has been a series of happy coincidences, from her association with The Vagina Monologues to playing Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic
Anuka Roy (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 2, 2018)

Actor Avantika Akerkar believes in serendipity. That’s how her life has been so far — full of serendipitous twists and turns. She moved back to Mumbai in 2000 after living in the US for two decades (post college) to work here during the dotcom ‘boom’. But she lost her job when that bubble burst. While in the US, Akerkar was determined never to wait tables. But once unemployed, she became a bartender at her brother Rahul Akerkar’s restaurant, Indigo (which has now shut down). “I was only helping out. And I got to meet the most amazing people and hear the most incredible stories,” says Akerkar with a laugh, as we point out the contradiction.

The actor, who is going to play Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic, says acting, too, happened by chance. In 2001, she had got in touch with family-friend Dolly Thakore and expressed her desire to act. “She called me a few days later to say that her son, Quasar, was directing a play called Lunch Girls and if I would be interested?”

Akerkar agreed right away, but on the opening night, had a bad case of nerves. The first thought that crossed her mind was “what the hell am I doing here?” Akerkar adds, “It’s been a journey since then.”

Akerkar has also, notably, been a part of the Indian adaptation of The Vagina Monologues (alongside Thakore and others), again quite by chance. Coincidentally, the play premiered at Prithvi Theatre, where we met Akerkar for this interview. Sitting cross-legged on a wrought iron chair in the green room, Akerkar says about the opening night of Monologues: “We were told to keep our bags packed and our passports handy because we weren’t sure what would happen at Prithvi after the staging [of the controversial production]. We were warned we might have to go into hiding for a few days.” Thankfully, nothing happened – except that the play ran to packed houses for years after.”

Currently, Akerkar is playing Naseeruddin Shah’s wife in Motley’s latest production, The Truth. About the Thackeray biopic, she says: “I got a call informing me that Sanjay Raut [politician and producer of the film] would like to speak to me. I had a meeting with the team, and was briefed about my role in the film,” she says. “The meeting went really well, but I just asked one thing: I hope you have the Thackeray family’s permission,” Akerkar says, with her signature vivacious laugh.