Digital Darling: Radhika Apte

What’s common between the deliciously wicked black comedy Andhadhun, the anthology film on love and relationships Lust Stories, and the thrilling series Sacred Games? Our cover girl Radhika Apte, who seems to be only going from strength to strength with each passing year! Not only is she counted among the most talented female actors we have today, she is also somebody who has shown conviction in the content. The result? Radhika’s been a part of a number of critically acclaimed feature films, short films as well as digital series in the last few years. Whether it was as a Research and Analysis Wing agent in Sacred Games or as an interrogator at a detention centre in the horror series Ghoul or as a married college professor in Lust Stories who has sexual intercourse with her student, Radhika’s varied work has made her a darling of the digital space. This year, too, there’s a lot to expect from this lovely girl! Excerpts from a conversation…

- Deepali Singh

After your first stint in the movies, you left for London for a year. Did you feel at that time that acting wasn’t for you?

No, I never thought that. I didn’t know how to start and get work. Also, I didn’t know anybody here and it was lonely. The pace of the city is so fast. I just wanted to go back and it was quite impromptu. I didn’t have a plan.

Now when you look at what you have achieved, do you feel a sense of creative satisfaction?

One always wishes it could have been better, but some of it, yes. Sometimes, when you see the kind of work women actors are doing in some other film industries outside of India, and then you feel we don’t have that kind of scope here as yet. So, then it feels a bit sad. Also, the kind of project where you can really, really find a challenge and work hard is what you get once in two or three years. The kind where you get to learn something new and discover something in your own abilities, that rarely happens.

What really attracts you to a script?

It needs to be challenging and it needs to excite you. I have to be intrigued by the character and feel excited about working with the colleagues involved in it.

You have explored a number of mediums in your career, whether it’s short films, theatre, feature films or the web. What’s the most exciting thing about being a part of so many platforms?

It is exciting because there is so much being made at the moment. It’s all about good work, and the medium doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you’re trying to be a good actor and trying to find projects that challenge you as an actor and as a person. That can happen on any platform. It’s just that now, with digital, the opportunities are vast.