Rasika Dugal finds joy in breaking the stereotype around female characters

Mumbai: Early on in her career, Rasika Dugal was asked to audition for ‘bubbly’ characters in the same vein as Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Geet from the superhit romantic comedy ‘Jab We Met’.

The ‘Delhi Crime’ star, who graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, said she loved Kareena's performance in the 2007 film, but she couldn’t bring herself to fit into that mould.

“When I started acting professionally after I finished the film institute for the longest time, the brief was, ‘We want you to be bubbly, like Kareena from ‘Jab We Met’. It was always like that. So, for 30 auditions, it was like Kareena from ‘Jab We Met’. Though I loved her performance and the film, I couldn’t do it,” Dugal said.

She was speaking at a panel discussion on the topic ‘The role of media and entertainment in empowering women’. The conversation was part of a special segment, ‘Her Story, Her Voice’, organised by ‘Netflix’ and the National Commission of Women.

The actor, also known for her work in ‘Mirzapur’ and ‘Manto’, finds joy in breaking the stereotype around female characters. Citing the example of her widely acclaimed ‘Netflix’ series ‘Delhi Crime’, in which she plays the role of a cop named Neeti Singh, Dugal said she aimed to bring out the true side of a police officer on screen.

“It was an interesting experience working on the show. I don’t know anyone in the police world, so I knew I had to work toward it. I wanted to understand police protocol, like on which side you will sit in a police car,” she added.