Ridhi Dogra: Bollywood isnít a creative industry, itís closed and business-minded

ISLAMABAD 13 July (Online): Actor Ridhi Dogra talks about the challenges she faced as a television actor, her perspective about the film industry and working with two of the biggest actors in the film industry
Having carved a place for herself in the television industry, actor Ridhi Dogra made her big screen debut earlier this year with Lakadbaggha. The film is set to have its European premiere later this month at the 20th Indisches Film Festival Stuttgart (Germany). While Dogra is thrilled, she feels it is ìsad and embarrassingî that good content only comes into notice in India when itís appreciated elsewhere.

There ís certain laziness in this industry. People donít see talent for what it can be, they see it for what it is. It is so sad and embarrassing. We donít have the conviction to use talent. We need people from around us to tell us, ëArrey isme kuch baat haií. The moment that happens, we are convinced to put our money on them safely,î she says.

The actor, who has done web projects such as Asur and The Married Woman, admits that transitioning from one medium to another hasnít been easy. Despite these challenges, Dogra has come a long way. She is all set to share screen with superstars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in Tiger 3 and Jawan respectively.

Ask if she faced any obstacles bagging these projects, and the 38-year-old says, ìI face challenges all the time. Playing a role onscreen isnít the challenging part, but figuring things off camera is a task. You just want to act, but then you have to be a marketing person, too, [knowing how to seel yourself]. During this process, you also realise that the film industry ó that claims to be a creative field ó is actually such a closed setup and business-minded. Especially when there are big monies involved, makers want to put money on actors they are comfortable with, because they feel that particular star would listen to themî.

Talking about the challenges she faced, the actor says, ìI used to find things like, ëYeh toh TV actor haií very absurd. Itís wrong to generalise.

I consider myself an exception. I donít have this baggage that Iím from TV, I never think like that. I feel sad for a lot of people who get stuck in these labels. If you are an actor, you belong to all the mediums,î says the actor, adding that she takes pride in ìbelonging to TV and OTTî.

She goes on to share that unlike actors who get things on a platter, those coming from different mediums have to struggle to make a place for themselves. ìI donít have people guiding or telling me ki, ëYeh 10 filmein aa rahi hainí. I literally have to chase people and run after them to see the potential in me. Itís a little embarrassing because you may feel that your work should speak for you, but itís a different game in Bollywood,î she says.

Having said that, Dogra doesnít discount the ìincredible experienceî she had working with the two Khans. ìI did these films not because they were calculated moves, but because I wanted to be on film sets where there are the big superstars, to see how they work and how such a big production happens. I went into it as a student of cinema. I didnít have an agenda ki main yeh karungi toh woh ho jayega… Somewhere, I do feel that I have taken a big risk, youíll know why Iím saying this after the films release, but then so be it. I donít think too much,î she signs off.