Nawaz looks to Rasika for her honest critique

Rasika Dugal needs no introduction. The actor who will be playing Safia Manto in the upcoming film by Nandita Das has already been garnering a lot of attention and praise for her role since the Cannes film festival. The actress who has worked in both films and theatre for many years is passionate about cinema and filmmaking and it shows in each film she chooses.

Currently busy with promoting the film, Rasika and her co actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui who plays Manto himself have been talking a lot about the film and hosting screenings for various press houses and groups of people. Post each screening, there is a ritual the two extremely talented actors follow, it is to critique each other’s work. While both actors didn't want to fall into the trap of over articulating during shoot, they are talking about all the details now that the film is complete and ready for release.' We often talk about the scenes that worked, the moments that had caught us unaware. How a scene had felt while shooting and how that has/or has not come to life on screen; which of my scenes he liked the most and vice versa. It is rare to get honest feedback in this business. And from the people whose opinion you trust. I get to learn a lot and totally enjoy these conversations with Nawaz.' While audiences have always known, Rasika Dugal is a volcano of talent, we can now safely say, it is true as Nawazuddin believes in her credibility too.

Safia Manto who was the author’s backbone every step of the way was a strong lady herself. Unfortunately not much has been said about her until now. Slated to release this September, audiences will get to watch the story of Manto and his strong wife, Safia

Rasika to play IPS officer in a crime drama series 'Delhi Police'

Actress Rasika Dugal is best known for her films Qissa, Tahaan, Kshay and award-winning short films like The Schoolbag and Chutney, has now garnered a lot of praises at the recent Cannes Film Festival where her soon to release film Manto had its world premiere. Rasika has proven her versatility as an actor time and again with the variety of roles she chooses to perform.

After winning rave reviews for her performance in the short film Chutney, she will be soon seen in a web series tentatively titled Delhi Police. Rasika who is known for doing roles that are always challenging will be seen donning the role of an IPS officer for the first time onscreen. Delhi Police is an eight-part crime drama series, based on high profile criminal cases. The drama involves investigation around these cases specifically hunting down the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. Rasika is playing a very pivotal character who is a smart and strong police officer who tries to crack the down the cases along with his team of able police officers. The show also features other talented actors including the likes of Shefali Shah, Adil Hussain, and Rajesh Tailang amongst others in pivotal roles.

Delhi Police is been directed by Indian Canadian director Richie Mehta who has directed critically acclaimed films like Amal and Siddharth. The show is produced under the banners Golden Karavan and Ivanhoe Pictures.

Rasika Dugal esctatic to celebrate 10 years of acting in films with Manto at Cannes 2018

Rasika Dugal who’s been surprising everyone with her varied roles proving herself as a versatile actress with numerous projects is soon leaping into the big pool. The actress who made headlines last year when she was roped as the lead in Nandita Das’ much talked about biopic of Sadat Hassan Manto, is now making news again as her film in which she’s paired opposite Nawazuddin Siddiquie is headed to the very prestigious, Cannes Film Festival. 

The actress has been dabbling her acting skills not just in films but in various entertainment platforms including theatre, television and web. The actress made her debut exactly 10 years back and now is reaping the benefits of her persistent trial to grow as an actor. What better way than to mark her 10 years as a working actress than with the premiere of her biggest film at the most prestigious film festival in the world. 

The actress’ film Manto has been one of the two only Hindi films this year as the official selection for Cannes where the film will be screened in the prestigious category - Uncertain Regard. 

Speaking about the occasion, Rasika said, “It has been ten years since I started acting professionally. It has been a crazy journey , with so many ups and downs and myraid experiences. And  I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate ten years of being in this profession than with having my film as an official entry at the Cannes Film festivals and that too in a prestigious section - Un Certain Regard'. For actors like me, appreciation for our work is most valuable. It is what we thrive  on. This selection is such an honour and an incentive to push myself further to learn more and raise the standards of performance”.

Manto actress Rasika Dugal signs another film named 'Reincarnation'

Actress Rasika Dugal, who will soon be seen playing the role of Safia Manto in Manto in Nandita Das’ Manto with Nawazuddin Siddique had taken on another challenging role in a movie titled Hamid which she recently wrapped up. And now she has a yet interesting role coming up in a movie titled 'Reincarnation' This movie is based on a short film directed by Gaurav Bakshi. He had made a short film of the same name and now is making a feature film which has been drawn from the short. The movie is produced by Hamara Movies marking their debut into film production. Directed by Gaurav Bakshi the movie stars Rasika Dugal, Sanjay Mishra and Akshay Oberoi in the lead role. Reincarnation is a story of a man who thinks he is a reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi and Rasika will be seen portraying yet another interesting character this time as a probable disciple of Sanjay Mishra’s on-screen character. Rasika said in a statement, "I play a woman who is very aware of her sexuality and (as a friend described it ) is 'casually brave'. The film is directed by Gaurav Bakshi and the basic premise of the film is an extension of his short film 'Reincarnation' which is a story of a man who believes he is a reincarnation of Gandhi. When I read the script, what interested me most was that I couldn't place the film in any genre.The fact that I couldn't slot it into any category made it exciting for me."

Rasika researches on the plight of women in Kashmir

After portraying a young mother in the recently released Tu Hai Mera Sunday, Rasika Dugal will play Ishrat, a Kashmiri mother, in the upcoming drama, Hamid produced by SaReGaMa. The film talks of Kashmir’s conflict zones through an emotional mother-son journey and an eight-year-old boy’s quest to find his father. Situation in Kashmir is worsening day by day. The entire humanity is put to shame with the condition of Kashmiri’s especially for young kids and women. It was a daunting task for Rasika to play a character of a mother whose husband is lost and her young son is on quest to find her father. 

Though we have seen Rasika playing the similar character in her award-winning short film The School Bag, here Hamid takes the audience to a different level of performance by Rasika and child artist Talha Reshi. To prepare her role Rasika began her homework by reading up and watching documentaries on the life of Kashmir’s ‘Lady of Iron’, Parveena Ahangar, the founder of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her pacifism and human rights activism. The actress was also very influenced by Iffat Fatima’s 26-minute documentary, Where Have You Hidden My New Moon Crescent, which tells the story of Mughal Masi, who died waiting 20 years for her son to return. Rasika went on researching on internet by going through various petitions, news articles published on the plight of Kashmiri women to locate their husbands and children in the conflict zone. 

When asked Rasika about her research she said, “It's a part of my job as an actor to do research work on a part I am going to play. That is the most basic thing that I can do. The more important thing is to somehow find a connect with people and situations which are seemingly beyond your own realm of experience. I always find it useful  to accept to myself honestly that I will always be an outsider to another person's experience but , at the same time, I am craving to be let in. That leaves me both vulnerable and curious. But at the end of the day, I can only do my work to the best of my knowledge and hope that I have been sensitive to the people whose story we are attempting to tell especially when it's about people who have lived in conflict for so long”

After Manto, Rasika Dugal all set to a brand new avatar in Mirzapur

Over the years, Rasika Dugal, has been known for experimenting with various modes of entertainment. Having started with theatre, the actress soon took to the silver screen apart from doing television and then venturing into digital. She was in the news, recently, for portraying the role of Safia Manto, in Nandita Das' much-awaited Manto biopic. Rasika has so far played soft and exquisite characters, but now Rasika wants to break free and come out of her comfort zone and play something which we would not even imagine her playing.Not just her look but also her character in her next project will surprise all. After Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey, it's now Rasika who is all set to join the cast of Amazon Prime's next original in India titled Mirzapur. In this series, Rasika is all set to play the character of a fierce and intense woman desired by every man in her village.Imagining Rasika Dugal in this character makes it very exciting as a viewer, after her sweet role in the recently released Tu Hai Mera Sunday. She was earlier seen in the web space with her award-winning short film, Chutney and also was seen in the popular TVF web series, Humorously Yours.

Rasika Dugal in Zoya Akhtar’s next in Bombay Talkies 2

In 2013, four directors came together to commemorate 100 years of Indian Cinema, and they made critically acclaimed film Bombay Talkies. The film was an ensemble of four short films based on the theme of cinema that starred Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ranvir Shorey and Saqib Salim directed by Dibakar Bannerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar. All the stories were masterpieces in themselves with brilliant performances from each actor. Now four years later the quartet is coming back with a sequel to Bombay Talkies with all new stories to tell this time around. There are already reports of Bhumi Pednekar and Neil Bhoopalam roped in for the film by Zoya Akhtar, the fresh news is that joining the cast will be Rasika Dugal who plays a pivotal character in the film. The actress was last seen in Nikhil Advani's magnum opus drama POW - Bandhi Yudh Ke and now next she will be seen with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Manto which is set to be directed by Nandita Das. Rasika is all excited with these new developments in her career and is looking forward to work with Zoya Akhtar who is one of the few brilliant woman directors country has. 

When asked Rasika she said, "This is the first time I'm working with Zoya. She had watched my short film Chutney where she really liked my part and she called me to congratulate me for the award the film won and then she asked if I would be willing to play a part in her upcoming project. I was overjoyed because she one of the directors you want to work with. She's one of those directors who has the talent to have a very good mix between making a film of a high scale and great content. I have always admired her work, I was pretty thrilled when she called me for the part in Bombay Talkies 2. We shot end of last month and the shoot was for around 5 days"

Rasika Dugal enters P.O.W

From Vagina monologues to Dastan goi, from Qissa to her latest short film Chutney, Actress Rasika Dugal has never failed to impress us with her amazing acting skills. Recently we also saw her in the trailer of TVF's new web series called 'Humoursly Yours' and now we will also be seeing Rasika in Nikhil Advani's P.O.W. Rasika is the new introduction to the serial and she plays a very pivotal role. She is playing the role of Shobha and she joins the series when they start exploring the personal life of Vikram Singh (played by Manish Chaudhari). She plays a single parent raising a hearing impaired child. When asked Rasika, she said "' In P.O.W - Bandi Yuddh Ke, I play the role of Shobha. A series of events have happened in the past linking me with the other characters already established in the show. That will all unravel as the series moves on and the plot becomes even richer." When asked about her experience on working with Nikhil Advani, she said “Nikhil is such a comfortable director to work with. Fully invested and always alert to an actor’s needs. He has lived films for so many years those things that many directors might have to think through seem to be a part of his bloodstream. I enjoy shooting with him a lot."