As Noorie in Dil Dhadakne Do, Ridhima Sud won many hearts and now her latest film, a docu-drama titled Kajariya, has created a lot of buzz. Sud tells Deebashree Mohanty that she is just lucky to be there at the right place, at the right time
She is smart, able, funny and very sure about the choices she makes. Meet Ridhima Sud from Mumbai, who went from being a ramp model to a glam diva through sheer hard work. “And dollops of good luck too,” she adds. “I am the classic example of being at the right place and at the right time,” Sud, who was last seen in Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadkne Do, tells you. She has two very interesting projects lined up, but Sud says it all still seems like a dream to her.
It was a lazy summer afternoon in New York when things started happening for this hopeful actor. “I got to know that Julia Roberts and her entire crew were in the vicinity to shoot a few scenes for her upcoming romantic drama, Eat Pray love. Julia has always been someone I looked up to, so I decided to gate crash on the party. I used my networking skills to good effect, got her exact address and landed up unannounced,” she says, breaking into a giggle every now and then. What was supposed to be just a friendly visit, turned out to be an opportunity for Sud.
“I was blown away when I saw her crew preparing for one minor sequence in the film. It was an entire entourage working behind the scenes. I wanted to do much more than meet and hug Julia. I wanted to be a part of her team, albeit for a couple of months. It was a herculean task to break into that network, but I kept trying. I landed up at the sets every other day and used to constantly nag the programming head to give me some work. He got so fed up, that he enrolled me in his production team,” she says, excitedly.
The 25-year-old actress managed to bag the role of a production assistant for the film and Sud was on cloud nine. “It gave me license to be everywhere at whatever time. Some people used to wonder; ‘yeh hai kaun’ but I managed to fool everyone with a straight face. After a point, they stopped asking me for my identity pass,” she says. It was this ‘out-of-the-world experience’ that made Sud realise she was cut out to be an actress. “Prior to this madness, I thought I was happy where I was. I had not given my career much of a thought. But once I performed mundane tasks for this crew, I had a craving to do more. The back-stage work was a lot of fun but I had this urge to be in front of the camera too,” Sud tells you.
Dil Dhadkne Do landed up quite by accident. “A friend told me that Zoya was auditioning for a part in her upcoming film. I reached there without any preparation because I was sure I won’t get the part. I had zero experience and no guardian angel in the industry. The audition was fine and I got home without thinking much about it. Within a week, I got a call from her office saying that I was selected. From that moment on, I went absolutely numb!,” she says, adding that the experience was so surreal, that sometimes her co-stars had to pinch Sud to make her believe she was a part of the film.
“I thought it was a big fluke. That someday during the shoot, Zoya would realise her mistake of choosing me and throw me out of the sets. For the first couple of weeks on the cruise, I was under this constant fear. Probably that helped me to give my best,” the actress who ‘absolutely adores’ Madhuri Dixit says.
For her, DDD was all about fun, masti and a lot of dhamaal. “I was the pampered one on the sets. Ranveer Singh and I hit it off really well from day 1 and I discovered I had a lot of things in common with Priyanka Chopra. Anushka is a great person to hang out with. Initially I was scared of mingling with these high-flying stars but after spending days and weeks with them, I reslised that they are all very humble and friendly. No one had any airs on that cruise. That’s the biggest reason why the film is such a great success,” she tells you.
Her next project will surprise you. Sud will be seen playing the role of Meera, a journalist who travels to the interiors of Haryana and unravels the truth behind female infanticides and why it occurs rampantly. Madhureeta Anand’s Kajariya, is about a woman in a Haryana village who is made to kill unwanted girls behind the garb of religion. It is Meera who brings the crime to light. “Everyone I know tried to talk me out from doing Kajariya. They said it did not sit well with my ultra-glam avatar and that I should stick to doing pure commercial movies early on in my career. But I wanted to take up different roles to keep it interesting for me. I have always been moved by societal issues. When Madhureeta approached me for this role, I gladly accepted. It is a huge challenge but I think I have done well,” Sud tells you confidently. The trailer of the film has been well appreciated in International festivals.
Sud is also very excited about her next film which is a John Abraham production titled 17koShadi with Barun Sobti and others to be released in 2016. “It is a light hearted drama with a lot of dhol-shol and many dance numbers. The protagonist drags her parents to a local wedding and a lot of things happen which gives rise to funny situations. I had a bindaas time shooting for this film,” she tells you.
