Monica Dogra: I was replaced in as many as 6-7 projects and it was heartbreaking

The musician-actor talks about her intermittent acting career, “things didn’t happen as expected, I didn’t know why. It was tough. I was fortunate I had music” and her experience of starring in The Married Woman.

Best known for her work in films such as Rock On (2008) and Dhobi Ghat (2011), actor Monica Dogra has been seen in acting projects intermittently. Dogra mades her digital debut recently, with the web series, The Married Woman (TMW) and has been thrilled with the response. She says, “The reactions to TMW have been positive and warm. I feel like I am dreaming. I had been shooting another web show, Cartel, and when I was offered this part, I knew I had to take it up. There are so many similarities between my character and my real life- I am an artist, have been estranged from my mum, grew up in a troubled home, have fallen with a Muslim guy and all of these things happened with my character too. The experience so specific and felt like it was written by the divine.”

Monica says the experience of playing Peeplika was so specific that felt like it was written by the divine.

Talking about the gaps between her acting projects, she explains that wasn’t planned. “Nothing kept me away from acting. I got many projects and then they didn’t happen. And I didn’t know why. I went through a lot of struggle. I was replaced in as many as six-seven projects and it was heartbreaking; especially as those projects became hits; which hurt even more. It was difficult and hard. I am fortunate that I have my music to fall back on. Sometimes, I would think, why was it happening? So when TMW came along, I knew this dynamix and difficult character to portray. There is controversy around the show as well so I feel I was made for this.”

After being part of a show that talks about women being bound by societal rules, ask her how empowered does she think the Indian woman is today and she replies, “There is definitely a move towards more equality but as I say that, I know there is a long way to go. If you were to ask a room full of women between the ages of 15 to 70 years, 95 % of those women wil say that they have been subjected to some form of sexual violence, misogyny, patriarchy, inequality in families and at work. I do feel women are stepping up and being far more vocal than before, it is not’s just a woman’s responsibility but the world’s. We need men to wake up and take up the fight, participate more readily and more actively for women. We need corporations and governments to work on things that make up for all the lost time and undo the damage.”

She has finished writing an EP and an album and has worked on her music which should be out this year, she says. Moreover, excited about the boom in Indian OTT content, she feels it has been incredible. “A lot of Indian OTT content has gone on to win awards on global platforms, which is awesome. The content has allowed storytelling to go to the next level. It has allowed actors who didn’t get their due to position themselves better. It is an exciting time to be an actor,” she concludes.