Rasika Dugal: If I wanted to be an actor in another age, it would be the 1960s

Chandigarh: Rasika Dugal, who gained national visibility with her appearances in shows like ‘Mirzapur’ and ‘Delhi Crime’, said that given a chance to be an actor in another time zone, she would opt for 1960s.

"Otherwise this (current time) is the next best option," she said.

In a conversation with Aseem Chhabra, film journalist and Director of the New York Indian Film Festival, at the Cinevesture International Film Festival 2024 (CIFF) here, Rasika spoke in detail about whether she has entered the industry at a good time.

“When I started working after graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in late 2006, Rs 1 crore film had become 'the thing'. ‘Bheja Fry’ had released, and everybody was quite inspired by the kind of attention it got. And things had started turning digital in terms of shooting equipment. So the cost of production of a film had gone down,” Rasika said.

The actress, who was most recently seen in the horror thriller ‘Adhura’, said: “There were many smaller films which were being made at that time. I thought that was a very interesting time for an actor like me to come into the industry. Of course, the bottleneck remained ‘distribution’. Small films were being made, but nobody knew how to make them see the light of the day.”

Continuing on the theme, Rasika said: “And there were lovely initiatives like the PVR-sponsored directors and film festivals, without which I wouldn’t have a career. So, I think that was very encouraging for me as an actor. Had I joined the industry a few years earlier, maybe I would have felt disappointed with the ‘mahaul’."

“And later, the arrival of the streaming services was a way to access a wider audience and break that bottleneck of 'distribution'. So, I think it’s been a fascinating few years. If I want to be an actor in another time, it would be the '60s, but otherwise, this is the next best option.”