‘I Was A Muhphat’

‘I
was
one
of
those
children
who
didn’t
feel
I
had
to
adhere
to
instructions
on
how
to
behave.’
‘That
must
have
made
things
very
awkward
for
my
parents.’

Rasika
Dugal
is
an
actor
who
can
balance
both
indie
cinema
or
mainstream
movies
with
ease.

Beena
Tripathi
in
the

Mirzapur
series
is
a
far
cry
from
Constable
Neeti
Singh
in

Delhi
Crime.

Rasika’s
talent
shines
through
in
films
like

Qissa,
Hamid
and

Manto
that
feature
her
in
characters
full
of
quiet
complexity
and
strength.

In
contrast,
her
performance
in
the
zany
comedy

Lootcase
sees
her
embody
sassy
housewife
Lata,
a
character
as
quirky
and
bright
as
the
film
itself.

It
is
for
these
spunky
choices
that
Rasika
was
felicitated
with
the
Diversity
Champion
award,
honouring
her
diverse
body
of
work,
at
the
Indian
Film
Festival
of
Melbourne.

The
festival
saw
the
world
premiere
of
Rasika’s
new
film

Little
Thomas,
a
family
drama
co-starring
Gulshan
Devaiah.

“If
somebody
labels
me
as
an
OTT
actor
or
an
indie
cinema
actor,
they’re
both
labels
that
I
wear
very
proudly
because
these
spaces
have
given
me
a
lot,”
Rasika
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com
in
the
first
part
of
a
lively
interview.

What
is

Little
Thomas
about?

It
is
a
beautiful
story
about
the
life
of
a
family
in
Goa
and
how
they
navigate
their
financial
difficulties,
the
ups
and
downs
of
their
relationship,
the
relationship
between
a
couple
who
have
been
married
for
so
long.

It
is
about
how
they
navigate
dealing
with
a
growing
child
who
is
asking
all
sorts
of
awkward
questions
and
a
child
who
desperately
wants
a
sibling.

They
run
an
old
bakery,
which
they
are
trying
to
preserve.

It
is
set
in
the
’90s
and
our
director
Kaushal
Oza
has
a
very
quiet
and
interesting
way
of
telling
the
story,
which
I’m
always
very
drawn
to.

Since
the
film
is
set
in
the
’90s,
what
are
your
fond
memories
from
that
time
period?

The
’90s
is
when
I
grew
up.

I
remember
so
much
from
the
popular
culture,
the
ads,
jingles,
TV
serials,
films.

The
pre-cell
phone
era
had
a
charm
of
its
own.

I
romanticised
that
time
because
the
pace
of
life
today
is
a
bit
too
much
for
me.
That
time
suited
my
personality
better.

It
didn’t
feel
like
it
was
an
era
that
I
had
to
work
towards
understanding.
I’m
still
trying
to
cope
with
the
pace
of
life
for
today.

You
are
playing
a
mother
of
a
young
child
in

Little
Thomas.
Did
this
film
give
you
a
look
back
at
your
childhood?

In
a
way,
yes,
in
terms
of
how
adults
react
to
children,
their
curiosity
and
their
questions.

Jessie
and
her
husband
react
exactly
like
adults
in
India
often
do.
They
don’t
address
the
question,
they’re
too
awkward
to
answer
questions,
so
they
kind
of
skirt
around
it,
and
make
up
stories
so
that
the
child
is
entertained
and
engaged.

I
think
that’s
how
we
grew
up,
where
parents
didn’t
really
address
your
questions,
they
just
skirted
around
it
because
they
were
too
awkward
to
answer
them.

New
age
parents
have
conversations
with
their
children
and
don’t
paper
over
things.
They
address
the
questions.

There’s
a
kind
of
maturity
in
conversations
between
the
adult
and
the
child,
which
wasn’t
there
at
that
time.

How
were
you
as
a
child?

I
think
you
have
to
ask
this
question
to
my
parents.
(Laughs)

From
what
I’ve
heard
around
me,
I
was
quite
fearless.

Adults
often
give
instructions
to
children,
‘Oh!
don’t
say
this
in
front
of
this
person’
or
‘Don’t
say
that
to
somebody
or
they
might
get
angry’
and
all
of
that.

But
I
was
one
of
those
children
who
didn’t
really
feel
that
I
had
to
adhere
to
instructions
on
how
to
behave.

I
was
irreverent
and

muhphat
(blunt).
I
think
that
must
have
made
things
very
awkward
for
my
parents.

What
kind
of
reactions
are
coming
your
way
after
the
premiere?

The
audiences
at
film
festivals
are
so
intelligent
and
discerning.
Their
questions
are
so
interesting,
it
really
makes
you
feel
rewarded
as
a
performer
because
they
will
notice
all
the
things
that
you
have
done.

For
example,
I
learned
how
to
play
the
piano
for
this
film
and
that’s
a
very
tiny
part
of
the
film.
It’s
not
the
main
story.

But
while
working
on
the
film,
it
became
my
connect
with
this
character
Jessie
Miranda.
She
has
a
passion
for
music
but
never
gets
to
realise
that
passion
because
of
life
taking
over.

There
are
so
many
people
around
us
who
do
not
get
an
opportunity
in
life
to
explore
their
passion
and
their
talent.
She’s
that
person.

I
learned
how
to
play
the
piano
for
three
months
because
it’s
not
an
easy
thing.

I
was
saying
that
the
audience
is
so
good
because
I
was
wondering
if
anybody
would
have
noticed
that.

Sure
enough,
there
was
a
question
from
the
audience
right
after
saying
that,
‘Did
you
learn
how
to
play
the
piano?’

It’s
because
they
saw
shots
in
which
the
camera
goes
directly
from
my
hands
to
my
face.
So
there’s
no
opportunity
to
have
somebody
else
do
that.

So
you
have
to
play
the
piano
yourself,
and
these
were
some
of
the
toughest
pieces
that
exist
like
the
one
piece
was
Mozart’s

Sonata
Number
16,
one
was
by
Schumann,
one
was
Chopin.

These
people
are
master
composers,
so
to
play
their
work
was
not
easy.
And
definitely
not
easy
in
just
three
months.

The
audience
knew
that,
so
it
was
nice
that
somebody
saw
that
in
my
work
and
asked
me
that
question.

Film
festival
audiences
are
always
like
that.
They
are
lovely.

Also,
there’s
just
so
much
love
for
our
work
from
the
Indian
diaspora
in
Melbourne.
People
were
just
so
warm
and
so
excited
to
meet
us.

I
met
a
couple
of
people
on
the
road
while
I
was
taking
a
walk
in
the
city
and
I
invited
them
for
the
screening
and
they
came.
I
was
very
happy.