I want to try my hands at both acting and music: Aditi Saigal

Mumbai: Singer-actor Dot of ‘The Archies’ fame said working on director Zoya Akhtar’s film enriched her life with many new experiences, but for her, music will always come first. In the Indian live-action musical movie based on the popular American comics of the same name, Dot played the role of Ethel Muggs.

The 25-year-old, whose real name is Aditi Saigal, said she always wanted to be a musician.

“When Zoya auditioned me, then fame happened. I’m grateful for it, as I had so many new experiences and it added so much to my life. I want to try my hands at both acting and music because everything is a creative venture. I don’t know what the film world has to offer me. I’m curious about it. Music is my first love, so I’ll never leave it,” Dot told the top news agency.

The musician said Akhtar had been following her music for a long time and was keen on incorporating one of her songs, ‘Asymmetrical’, in ‘The Archies’. “She approached me for that. We had a conversation on Zoom about how to edit it so that it fits well with the character in the movie. Later, she asked me, ‘Do you act?’ I was like, ‘I did in school a little bit, but professionally, no’. She asked me if I could audition for it and I said, ‘Okay’. So, I gave the audition and I got the part,” she recalled.

Dot recently released ‘Practice Rooms’, a compilation of her songs on ‘YouTube’. Born in university practice rooms and nurtured during local open mic nights, the 10-track album includes songs such as ‘Everybody Dances To Techno’ and ‘Asymmetrical’. The singer, who gained recognition online with ‘Everybody Dances To Techno’, said she was studying music in the UK when she released some of her songs on ‘YouTube’.

“When I put ‘Techno’, the Internet went crazy as a lot of people connected with it. When I came home, people would approach and recognise me. Those videos were for posterity’s sake. After getting recognition, which at first was great but then was scary, I took a two-year break from everything. I didn’t write. I took an office job. I stayed away from music, but I came back to it. In 2020, I did another album, which was a collection of five songs,” she said.

Dot said she had a great time working on the movie with her co-stars.

“Among all of us, Mihir Ahuja has done the most work. He is dedicated to his craft. I admire that quality. Suhana is up for anything. She has a twinkle in her eye and she is ready to take on any challenge,” she added.