You relate to some characters instantly, says Rasika on Out of Love

In the last one and a half years Rasika Dugal has appeared in diverse web shows including Mirzapur, Delhi Crime, Humoursly Yours among others. 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 when 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, Out of Love, co-starring Purab Kohli?

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 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, it would be this new web show, Out of Love.

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 Out of Love came up, the actor me felt satisfied. Some characters you relate to instantly and my role in Manto (2018) was one of those. 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 that they shot in all for the show. Physical exhaustion on certain days gave me something new to work with and I had to rely on instinct while acting (laughs).

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 being part of Vagina Monologues for nine years, and also did work that was not well-recognised at that point. The gap between film roles and theatre ones 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 the beginning of my career against advice from people. They felt people won’t give me better roles if I did but my logic was that acting is the only way to show people what I can do. I did a TV shows like Powder and Kismat too.