Even as Lord Curzon Ki Haveli arrives in cinemas today, actor Rasika Dugal is aware that such independent films rarely find a wide release. It’s a reality she has come to terms with. “The hope that independent films will see a wide theatrical release has unfortunately become a thing of the past. A few years ago, smaller films were finding some space in multiplexes. Now, with the dominance of large-scale movies, that hope has dimmed,” she states matter-of-factly.
That, however, won’t take away from Dugal’s love for them. The actor says that movies like Lord Curzon Ki Haveli — that is set in a single location, and stars Arjun Mathur, Tanmay Dhanania, Paresh Pahuja, Zoha Rahman, and her — keep her grounded as an artiste. “There’s an honesty to working on such a film. You don’t have the safety net of scale; it’s just you, your co-actors, and the director’s vision,” she says, before revealing that reuniting with Mathur after Made in Heaven was another incentive.
(From left) Rasika Dugal and Paresh Pahuja in ‘Lord Curzon Ki Haveli’
What further draws her to indie stories is the knowledge that they will give her the creative satisfaction she seeks. “Films feed my craft. They remind me why I became an actor — to explore complexity, to collaborate with people who are telling stories they believe in, and to take risks. I can’t choose work based on its eventual destiny. Some things you do for love, some for curiosity, and some because you know they will challenge you,” says Dugal, who straddles them with mainstream offerings like the Mirzapur franchise and Delhi Crime.
