Riddhi Dogra is currently seen as the female lead in Lakadbaggha. Directed by Victor Mukherjee, it also stars Anshuman Jha and Milind Soman. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actress for an exclusive conversation. Excerpts:
Was it difficult for you to play a full-fledged role in a movie?
When Anshuman and Victor came to me and narrated the story, they said this story is all about raising the voice for innocent animals. So, I loved the whole concept of the film. I never thought that I was doing a movie. I just focused on my art, as I am an artiste, and I should go and work in each direction and in every medium.
Is this your debut in a feature film?
If you want to put a label on it, this is my debut film. However, I feel that I have always been connected with the audience, so I don’t feel like I am going to meet the audience for the first time. Sometimes I feel it’s funny whenever I say it’s my debut film. But yes, I am coming to the big screen for the first time, which is very exciting for me. Apart from that, when they told me about this film being made on animals and I had to learn Krav Maga, I did so in India itself.
What is Krav Maga? Please explain.
Krav Maga should be practised by everyone because it’s a type of martial art that is hand-to-hand combat. If you have watched Mardaani, that is the best example of Krav Maga. We also did it in this movie. It is very useful for the women of our society as they can use it for self-defense.
A still from the film |
Your journey has been very interesting to date. How do you look at it?
I hope it keeps going on, and as time passes. I will be doing more and more things in several mediums, which will make my journey even more interesting. I feel like my journey depends on the medium in which I am working. Nowadays, mediums are changing; things are going from cinema to OTT. I don’t like to do many films as I am very happy and comfortable doing television.
As we all know censoring is very low on OTT and even in films. What is your take on this?
I don’t have any take on this; I am just an artiste. I will say that the censor is in oneself only. For example, some people eat non-vegetarian, but some people don’t, so it’s up to us to decide what to see and what not to. And I have also seen many old movies that contain abusive words. OTT is watched individually, but people go to cinema halls and watch films with their families and children. Even in television, there is a line that no one can cross, but it all depends on the threshold of society, and as society’s mindset is changing, the sensors are also evolving.
How do you look at your 2023 plan? What new projects will we witness?
I have a lot of OTT projects. Asur season 2 is coming. One romantic show is also coming up with Barun Sobti, whose name is not decided yet. Previously, it was named Cold Mess, and we have completed the shoot for it. I have never done any light characters; I have always done tough characters, so I am very excited about it. And there are a couple movies I am working on like Tiger 3 and Jawan.
