‘You Need A Thick Skin For This Industry’

‘My
father
is
a
businessman
and
he
has
gone
through
a
lot
of
ups
and
down.’
‘When
I
see
him
have
the
money
and
then
lose
it
all,
but
keep
trying
at
this
age,
I
feel
if
he
can
do
it,
then
why
cannot
I?’
‘That
has
been
my
biggest
motivating
factor.’

Breaking
into
the
world
of
cinema
is
no
small
feat
but
for
debutante

Arrchita
Agarwaal,
the
journey
to
her
first
acting
role
has
been
a
story
of
patience
and
determination.

Arrchita,
who
makes
her
acting
debut
with
the
crime
drama

Despatch
(streaming
on
ZEE5),
shares
with
a
deeply
personal
side
of
her
journey.

“,”
Arrchita
tells



Rediff.com
Contributor

Mohnish
Singh.

How
did
you
become
a
part
of
the
film
industry?

I
come
from
Assam.
I
have
always
wanted
to
act.

I
have
been
in
the
industry
for
over
nine
years
now.

I
started
off
as
a
costume
assistant,
and
did
films
like

Bangistan
(2015),
a
little
work
on

Piku
(2015)
and

Raees
(2016).

But
that
did
not
put
me
on
the
map.

Then
I
attended
an
acting
workshop
with
Anupam
Kher’s
acting
school,
followed
by
a
lot
of
other
workshops,
which
were
amazing.

How
did
you
bag

Despatch?

I
got
the
film
in
2020.
I
was
first
rejected,
and
then
it
just
happened.

And
now,
four
years
later,
the
film
is
finally
out.

What
motivated
you
to
come
to
Mumbai
and
pursue
your
dreams?

I
always
wanted
to
be
an
actor
as
a
child
but
in
school,
I
realised
I
am
not
the
epitome
of
beauty.

But
my
passion
to
become
an
actor
was
the
leading
factor.

My
father
is
a
businessman
and
he
has
gone
through
a
lot
of
ups
and
downs
in
his
life.

When
I
see
him
have
the
money
and
then
lose
it
all,
but
keep
trying
at
this
age,
I
feel
if
he
can
do
it,
then
why
cannot
I?

That
has
been
my
biggest
motivating
factor.

How
was
it
working
with
Manoj
Bajpayee?

Oh
my
God!
Now
when
I
look
back,
I
think,
‘Oh,
Manoj
sir
is
in
the
film.’

Very
honestly,
it
was
very
daunting.
But
when
he
is
on
set,
he
is
like
a
child.
He
carries
that
humour
with
him.

He
adds
that
humour
in
any
character,
and
gives
you
such
a
beautiful
space
to
just
be
you.

He
is
so
ready
for
collaboration,
so
ready
to
help.

He
lets
the
director
do
his
job
but
he
works
so
hard
on
himself.
That’s
why
he
is
so
effortlessly
different
in
every
character.

He
does
not
carry
his
stardom
to
the
set;
you
know,
I
come
with
these
many
years
of
experience,
so
don’t
teach
me
anything.

When
you
were
trying
to
create
a
space
for
yourself
in
the
industry,
did
you
ever
feel
uncomfortable?

To
be
very
honest,
no.

But
obviously,
when
you
do
get
into
anything,
you
first
hope
you
don’t
get
objectified.

Having
said
that,
anything
a
woman
does,
it
is
looked
at
in
a
way
where
you
are
put
in
a
box.

Like
in

Despatch,
I
do
have
uncomfortable
scenes,
intimate
scenes
with
Manoj
sir,
which
could
be
looked
at
in
a
certain
way,
which
may
help
some
form
an
opinion
about
me
and
put
me
in
a
box,
but
I
think
people
have
moved
on
from
there.

I
think
people
are
more
aware
now.

But
with
actors,
I
think,
we
kind
of
box
them.

The
moment
a
middle-class
person
expresses
his
desire
to
become
an
actor,
eyebrows
are
raised.
How
did
people
around
you
react
when
you
first
told
them
that
you
want
to
act?

It’s
so
funny
that
you
asked
this
because
when
I
was
a
kid,
I
kept
hiding
it
from
people
that
I
wanted
to
be
an
actor.

‘But
you
don’t
look
like
Anushka
Sharma
or
Priyanka
Chopra’
are
the
kind
of
comments
you
usually
get.

By
the
way,
I
love
Anushka
Sharma.
She
is
my
favourite
actress.

Those
comparisons
would
make
me
feel
demotivated.
So,
I
thought,
it
is
better
to
hide
that
ambition.

When
I
was
in
college,
I
finally
started
telling
people
that
I
wanted
to
become
an
actor.

Most
of
my
friends
thought
I
had
gone
crazy.

I
don’t
know
how
many
people
must
be
actually
leaving
the
dream
because
they
don’t
look
a
certain
way.

Many
close
relatives
sort
of
have
a
judgement
because
you
have
to
wear
a
certain
type
of
clothes;
they
just
attach
that
to
being
an
actor
and
to
living
in
Bombay.

So,
yeah,
there
is
a
judgment
when
it
comes
to
acting.

But
I
have
become
thick-skinned.

You
really
need
to
have
a
thick
skin
for
this
industry.

Have
you
signed
any
other
project?

I
don’t
have
anything
in
the
pipeline.

I
kept
meeting
a
lot
of
casting
directors
the
moment
I
finished
filming

Despatch.
Most
of
them
said
they
would
get
back
to
me.

Now
that

Despatch
is
out,
I
really
hope
they
do.

Currently,
I
am
focusing
on
the
Assamese
film
industry
because
it’s
booming
and
I
have
done
a
lot
of
work
there.