Rasika Dugal on Lootcase: 'The loss of watching your film in a dark theater with a romantic idea will always be there' (Exclusive)

Rasika Dugal is best known for her work in various films like Anwar, No Smoking, Manto, to name a few. Apart from that, the multi-faceted actor has also starred in Indian-German drama film, Qissa and several Indian soap operas.

Rasika is also one of the finest actresses we have on the web and is touted to be the most bankable actor in the entertainment industry. Her role in Mirzapur, in Zoya Akhtar's Made in Heaven or as an IPS officer in Delhi Crime, she has aced it all with perfection. And now, she is gearing up for her next film 'Lootcase', which is releasing on July 31, 2020, on Disney + Hotstar.

In an exclusive conversation with International Business Times, India, Rasika Dugal spoke at length about her upcoming film 'Lootcase', what keeps her away from big-budget films and update on Mirzapur season2.

Edited Excerpts from the interview:

How is she spending her quarantine time?

Lockdown is going fine, as, given the circumstances, there was a lot of worry about how we will come out of it. It took me time to get back to the groove but I am glad it happened. I and my husband Mukul wrote a short film called 'Banana Bread.

 From her journey as an actor to a writer

No, before 'Banana Bread' I never had an inclination to write. But always felt interested in generating my own content. Something at the ideating stage not writing. Mukul has the skillset and expertise in writing. During the lockdown wanted to do something. And co-writing with Mukul was something I was ecstatic for.

On her film Lootcase skipping the theatrical release,

 I'm as excited as I would have been had it been released theatrically, what others choice do we have at a time like this. Besides that, I also feel there are several advantages of watching your film on a big screen with a captive audience in a dark theatre that romantic idea. The loss of that will always be there for the people who have grown up watching films in the theatres. I think there are several advantages of a movie releasing on OTT as much of my work over the last few years have come on digital and I have never thought of that as a lesser platform than the theatrical release. For instance, just because OTT doesn't chase numbers it really encourages a competitive environment for content rather. I also feel that OTT is a safer medium, and your film is no longer competing with other films that are releasing on the same day because there is room for everybody. The film can be watched at any time of the day, no limited number of screens in that sense there is a brighter side to OTT. The fate of the film is no longer decided on a Friday. Typically, a platform gets the feedback of the film or show is doing well or not is shown after a month, and thankfully there is are numbers involved.

 Elaborate on your role in the film 'Lootcase' 

The script came to me at a time when I needed it the most, I was shooting for Delhi Crime season 1 and it was such an intense role emotionally. I wanted something which was light-hearted and I wasn't thinking it of so consciously but I feel as actors you attract the work you feel like doing. I was relieved that after an emotional and intriguing experience. In the film Lootcase, I play the character of Lata in the film, who is Nandan's (Kunal Kemmu) wife. Nandan is a middle-class man who works in a printing press. One day he finds a bag full of money and the story moves ahead into a comic caper about competing ambitions. Lata is morally right a and god-fearing wife. The narrative moves takes a comical turn when every character in the film responds to the said situation in a quirky manner.

I love the relationship that is shared by Lata and Nandan there is love, conflicts and confrontation. In fact, my bond with the child actor Aaryan in the film is also worth watching. Both Kunal and Aaryan have such good comic timing.

Her take on Kunal Kemmu's tweet that he posted for not inviting him for the virtual press conference that was held for the film Lootcase, which Rasika is also a part of.

Kunal responded in a way that I would have also responded. I resonated with him at that situation, and the way he said it was very graceful.

On not being part of big-budget commercial roles,

When I started acting, I didn't have a journey or trajectory in mind. As a film student, I have enjoyed watching films in all genres, even international work, and have also watched big blockbuster films as well. There has always been a celebration of cinema. I never thought that I want to be associated with his kind of cinema or I will up this role or won't take this role when I started my acting career in 2007 and had moved to Bombay. There was a huge demand for smaller films, and they were quite successful, people were on the verge of discovering a lot many genres and things. Back then, a movie was made in 1 crore, and that low budget film was going well with the audience, and I became a part of it. Otherwise, who didn't have access to bigger budget films started writing, which gave rise to independent cinema and I became a part of that journey. It's not that I rejected a big Bollywood film. I would have been happy if someone offered me a role in that. However, seeing the current scenario, during the last few years those lines have burled, Formula of both independent films and Bollywood films has broken down, and independent cinema now have bigger budgets too,

It is not that the content of a big-budget film is not real. I am open to that too. Out of all the previous work that I have been part of, Lootcase is one of the most commercial films. I have a dance number; I have a lip-sync in song, the film is in the comic genre. Overall it was a more commercial experience.

Update on Mirzapur season 2:

We are dubbing and it is on post-production. Even I don't know about the release date of Mirzapur 2.