From bunking lectures to her love for Kashmir, actor Rasika Dugal spills the bean about her journey so far. By Ankita Jain
Zeal to learn different languages, fetish for silver jewellery, a pro in accent learning and an upper hand in mathematics. These are some of the unique interests of Qissa famed actor Rasika Dugal. “I know five languages so far: Hindi, English, Punjabi, Portuguese and I’m currently learning Urdu”, said Rasika who will soon be seen in 'P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke', an adaptation of Gideon Raff's'Hatufim' (Prisoners Of War), an Israeli TV drama, the original series on which the show Homeland is based.
For her acting began on a whim, the actor recalls, “I saw an advertisement in the paper, and the following day enrolled at the FTII acting course that was restarted that year. Funnily enough, I got through the rigorous selection process. I think they wanted a mix of experienced and inexperienced actors in the batch. I constituted the latter,” she laughs. “I did some theatre when I was studying Math at lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, but I never thought that I wanted to pursue acting as a career.”
For a studious person like her, even bunking came with a neat trick during her college days, “Whenever I bunked, I wouldn’t wear kohl the next day, because I tend to look unwell without it,” she chuckles.
For now, the actor is busy shooting for her forthcoming TV show directed by Nikhil Advani, “It is on the Kargil backdrop and I am not playing the character of any prisoner. They have already shot 50 episodes out of which 25 features me. In total it is a series of 130 episodes,” she shares reluctant to reveal more about her character in PoW. Talking further about her working experience with director Nikhil Advani, she quite excitedly explains, “With various directors, it takes time to understand their respective style of directing but with Nikhil it was easy to connect. It was more like a film shot with the luxury of time since it is on a bigger scale.”
Rasika who will also be seen in Nandita Das’s directorial “Manto”, a movie on the literary genius Saadat Hasan Manto. While Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Manto, Rasika features as his wife Safia. Talking about Nawazuddin Siddiqui, she says, “It’s priceless to work with good actors. It will be a learning process to see him prepare and approach for the scenes in the film. When you are cast against artists like him, half the work is already been done.” Besides, she already has two other projects in her pipeline: The Viral Fever’s ‘Humourously Yours’ and a short film ‘Chutni’.
She is one of those persons who love sitting on the top of a mountain and enjoy the beauty of nature rather than partying all night, “I love mountains, Kashmir being on the top of my travel destination. I visit the place whenever I want a break in life,” she shares. When asked what she counts on in terms of fashion, she says, “I like indigenous fabric in western cuts. With western wear, I add an Indian touch to it. For instance, I enjoy pairing palazzo pants with ethnic tops. It is comfortable and has that Indianised look. Also, I wouldn’t waste my money on anything apart from silver jewellery. I don’t buy clothes that don’t go with silver. When I street shop or walk around, I always pick up some quirky jewellery. Moreover, I admire people who experiment with their clothes, but I am a little nervous to do it. And I’m seriously trying to find a stylist who can match my design sensibilities.”
Rasika, who originally hails from Jamshedpur knows Bihari accent very well and says, “If there’s one thing I want to be known for then its accent. I want to be familiar with as many accents as possible. I believe this is the best thing any actor can develop.”