Right now, India is the ideal location for an actor: Rasika Dugal

While in the city for a film festival, actress Rasika Dugal—who gained notoriety for the online series Mirzapur—relived her early summertime holiday memories spent in Chandigarh. In an exclusive interview with us, she said, “It is such a coincidence that I am staying in Sector 17, which was a coveted place for us as kids when our grandparents took us to Softy Corner here as a reward for good behaviour.”

After working on a number of compelling storytelling-focused projects, such as Delhi Crime, Manto, and Qissa, Rasika is now itching to branch out into humor.

She added, “I don’t feel the need to subscribe to a genre or gravitas, contrary to what it seems from my body of work. In fact, as a viewer, I am fascinated by comedy.” I didn’t get any offers since women aren’t often cast in lighthearted parts. It’s unfair that people don’t equate women with comedy since humor comes easily to them and they have used humor to get through difficult circumstances and sail through life.
Rasika
Unlike serious genres, Rasika believes humor can easily communicate ideas. She used her movie Fairy Folk, in which her husband Mukul Chadda also appeared, as a point of reference. Fairy Folk humorously articulated what needed to be said. I find it intriguing that experimenting with humor in film can be a lot of fun. Furthermore, most excellent humor says something deeper than it seems.
Looking back, Rasika considers herself lucky. “I didn’t have a lot of options early on, but even then, the projects that were handed to me were written for performers, like Qissa by Anup Singh Batla. A few years later, Nandita Das gave me Manto when I was having trouble finding steady employment. I had the honor of working alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Irrfan, two really experienced people who nonetheless treated me equally.
She thinks that an actor’s ideal job nowadays is in Indian movies. “Our sector is very colorful, joyous, and adaptable. I am aware of this when I visit film festivals in Europe. As an actor, I don’t need to be anywhere other than India at this time, the actress said.