‘I Love Giving Auditions’: Vedika Pinto On Finding Her Voice And Embracing Diverse Characters

That she has dazzled as Sudha Tripathi in her latest outing, Netflix’s Musafir Café, is as clear as day. But then, Vedika Pinto was always a force to reckon with even earlier, as we witnessed her as the hyper bride in Ritviz’s 2019 zany music video, Liggi. Having excelled then with her free performance and freer expressions, she ventured into films with Neeraj Pandey’s Operation Romeo, followed by Gumraah and the Nishaanchi franchise.

A University of London graduate, Vedika is a delightful conversationalist, as we discover.

Excerpts from the interview:

Seven years after Liggi, you have just done one more music video, four films and now a series. Why do you work so less?

(Grins) All I will tell you is that I gave countless auditions but nothing clicked! Everything takes its time and I guess you need it to find your place. Maybe I needed to be seen as Sudha, or Rinku from Nishaanchi before people could see me as someone else.

So to which acting ‘group’ do you belong—the ‘Always wanted to be an actor’ one or ‘I never planned but it happened’ division?

(Smiles) Oh, it was a bachpan ka sapna! But I never told anyone about it. I would act in school plays and in college too, but I was underconfident and not like Sudha at all! I was very sehmi si (scared). When I looked at the industry from near, it seemed to go even farther. I would wonder how it works and how difficult it would be to penetrate.

I had friends from big film families, and Sara Ali Khan is like a sister. But she was always ebullient and full of drama, an outgoing, confident personality. I would think ‘I am not like her. I am not good enough!’

So how did you come out of this self-imposed shell?

After college, I started auditioning, and looking at all acting workshops I could find in Mumbai. I love giving auditions, it’s one of my favourite activities. If I was told of a project, I would go for them. From 2017 to 2020, I did endless such auditions.

And then came Operation Romeo. How was that experience?

It was a great opportunity and an amazing experience. The role was quite demanding as it needed more of expressions with my eyes than dialogues. I was 22, did not know anything, and when I needed guidance, Neeraj-sir helped me a lot and increased my confidence. So did my director, Shashant Shah.

My co-star Sidhant Gupta was very helpful and ensured that this scared girl, who was wondering whether she could do justice to the assignment, could navigate her way. As for Sharad (Kelkar)-sir, he was a villain only on camera, but on sets he was very encouraging. Kishore (Kadam)-sir and Sharad sir really looked after me.

In retrospect, why do you feel that Liggi could not give you enough fame?

Well, Liggi did go viral and got me recognition. From an unknown, I went on to become a familiar face, but just a face, not a name. Still, it was my first experience before the camera, and ironically, after Musafir Café, someone came up to me at the airport and said, “Oh, you are the Liggi girl!” (Smiles)

What does acting mean to you?

For me, it will always be about living those multiple lives that I am not going to actually live! Like I was able to embody Sudha. In my brain, she is everything I would like to be—strong, confident, self-assured and inspirational. Of course, she is also confused and complex.

I have always been obsessed with stories, and what makes stories are characters, so for me acting is about embodying a character to tell a story.

Do you sometimes take away something of your characters?

Of course! You derive something from somebody you experience, something you lack, and that means growth for me as a person. When you are playing roles, you are also understanding so much perspective. You can bring so much newness to your own way of dealing about yourself. And that is why I think that acting is the coolest profession!

What do you have to say about Ranveer Singh, no less, following you on Instagram?

I think that is from around Liggi time. Though I have met him, the thought that I should ask him about it never even crossed my mind. (Smiles broadly)

Do you know the meaning of your name, ‘Vedika’, which is so beautiful?

Yes, I do. One meaning is “Altar of worship” and in Vedas it is considered to mean the “Divine feminine”. It is a gift from my naani, as my last name was Pinto, so woh milan to karna hi tha, to get in elements from both religions.

My dad is of Goan Portuguese heritage and my mom is a Punjabi from Kolkata. We all go to church at Christmas and when we go to Shirdi or Vaishnodevi, dad also comes. We all visit both the church and the temple.

Besides the second season of Musafir Café, is there anything else coming up?

Well, I haven’t signed anything concrete yet, but there are very exciting things on the table and I don’t want to jinx them by mentioning them now! I am proud to state that I would always tell my parents, “I will feel I have a place in the industry as soon as I have scripts to read!” The bachpan wali Vedika is very happy now because every day there is a new story, and I have to decide which one is right for me.

Please shed some light on why the ending of Musafir Café was changed from the original book, which has made a second season of the show possible?

The novel was written in 2016, and generally the narrative has also changed in the last 10 years. I think that our writer, Sharanya, also wanted to give a female gaze to the characters. At the end of the book, Sudha actually comes back with Chander’s 8 year-end child, so I also think that Chander was a bit of a red flag in the book. I don’t know who made this executive decision, but I think they must have done it in the writer’s room. The way we portrayed Sudha, it would not make sense for her to have a child, because then she will be going against everything that she stood for. People are not completely in agreement with the way we ended the series, but I guess at the end of the day we play characters for people to interpret.

Female gaze to characters by Sharanya, end of the book Sudha comes back with a child Chander was a red flag in the book who made the executive decision show Sudha in new light way we portrayed her not make sense for her to have a child against everything she stood for.