Radhika Apte: The pandemic has made me realise that this industry is not be-all and end-all

For Radhika Apte, a lot has changed amid the pandemic, from the way she looks at her career to her perception of the industry. She says the ongoing crisis has made her realise that “industry is not be-all and end-all”, and motivated her to follow her curiosity.

Looking back, Apte says, “My ambition has never been about becoming famous. And I really do not like to be recognised in public either. So, the ambition was to do good work, learn and feel inspired”.

But that essence got lost as she made her way into the industry, and found fame,

“I have been very fortunate to get some great projects. But, during the lockdown, I realised that I’m not very happy with the kind of work I keep doing, due to which I am constantly busy. It is inspiring,” shares the actor, who entered the industry in 2005 with a small role in the film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!.

Now, she wants to challenge herself, and not just say yes to different projects to keep herself so occupied.

She admits, “That you don’t even know whether you genuinely like what you’re doing or not, and if there’s anything else you want to pursue simultaneously.”

The actor, who was last seen in futuristic web series, OK Computer, confesses, “I just realised during the pandemic that this industry is not be-all and end-all for me. There are lots of other things that I feel curious about and sometimes I am like ‘Oh, my God, all my prime years, were just finished chasing something that I’m not even sure I want’. So, I want to choose projects carefully.”

In all these years, Apte also focused on carving her path in the OTT space, and showed off her calibre in Sacred Games, Ghoul, Lust Stories, Raat Akeli Hai among others. She was glad that OTT turned out to be a saviour last year, and continues to be one.

“OTT has a lot of advantages and a lot of great things to offer. But I am also a lover of cinema,” says the actor, who is hoping for the “screens to open up”, but doesn’t appreciate the parity that comes with it.

“Unfortunately in India, particularly, we have such parities when the theatres open. There’s no equal opportunity to all kinds of projects. The bigger projects, the more financially able projects dominate the cinema, which is a sad reality,” points out the actor.

That parity was wiped off last year with the boom of the OTT space.

“Everybody was on the same level. It didn’t matter who you are, if your content wasn’t good enough, it flopped. The smallest film and the biggest film have the same opportunity for viewing — that is very fascinating. I just hope OTT platforms can maintain the quality of content, which is difficult anyway, when you start producing in such massive quantity,” she signs off.