'They have to be good looking, they have to smile pretty, look pretty, sit pretty...''Being other characters allows for a greater mining and excavation of the human condition rather than just trying to play a prototype really well.'
After almost a decade long journey into Bollywood, Niharika Lyra Dutt finally found her footing with the positive reception for Call Me Bae.
The actor left a mark as the feisty bestie Tammarrah in the series headlined by Ananya Panday.
Her winning streak continued with another streaming show Doctors that put her acting talent in spotlight.
After a fruitful 2024, Niharika is hopeful for "better work in the future".
"People don't understand that getting your first project is hard, and then getting your first breakthrough project is also hard. But post that, getting the next project is damn bloody difficult. Especially when you're at a stage where scripts are not being sent to you, people don't want your opinion on it... I'm nobody's family member; that privilege is not afforded to me," Niharika tells Mayur Sanap/Rediff.com.
It's been 10 years for you in the industry and your breakthrough work happened only last year.
When you're trying to create a space for yourself in the industry, is there a feeling of disorientation when things don't work out in your favour? How do you keep yourself anchored?
Oh my God, of course, there is a feeling of disorientation.
The closer you get to the heart of the industry, the more you realise that there's a machinery that constantly pumps out a lot of money by the people who have that money.
Therefore, it creates visibility for them to be able to be more loved.
That can get overwhelming sometimes when you ask yourself, will I be able to do the machinery? Do I want to do the machinery?
I also wonder if people will take a chance on me.
I look back at my journey and have faith in myself and in the decisions I've made. Hopefully, that will take me forward.
At other points, I have to remind myself that I love acting, so I don't want to pigeonhole myself.
I won't call myself a character actor. But I feel like having the ability to be a lot more than just the lead is much more interesting, acting and writing wise.
I feel like the writing of the female leads have always been like there's a box in which they have to fit. They have to be good looking, they have to smile pretty, look pretty, sit pretty...
Being other characters allows for a greater mining and excavation of the human condition rather than just trying to play a prototype really well.
I'm hungry to work with incredible individuals.
My partner or my parents remind me of this that if you just put your head down and work hard, then your work will speak for itself, and the right people will seek you out.
I am waiting for such people, I guess. (Smiles)
Does it cross your mind that because we have seen you only on streaming so far, you might get labelled as an OTT actor?
I've just done a film, where it's not the lead but a very important part.
I've never wanted something really badly and then been disappointed. I've worked in hope for the opportunity to work.
So when this film came to me, I felt like, Inshallah, I will get better work in the future.
Whether it will be on OTT or in films, again, I feel like the right people will recognise it and collaborate.
What are the struggles to land your next opportunity, especially when you are not from the industry?
People don't understand that getting your first project is hard, and then getting your first breakthrough project is also hard.
But post that, getting the next project is damn bloody difficult. Especially when you're at a stage where scripts are not being sent to you, people don't want your opinion on it...
I'm nobody's family member; that privilege is not afforded to me.
I am just excited about the auditions that come my way. I look at it as a probability game.
Suppose, I've got five auditions. I ask myself: Are all five good parts in great projects with great directors? If yes, then even if I get a call back from two of them, I'm happy.
Spirituality also helps here.
I believe that the best thing for me will align at the right time.
Your Instagram handle says 'Magniloquent Spoony'. How do these words sync with your personality?
It's from a book called Less. It's a wonderful book, you should look it up.
The protagonist is this queer author who has been reviewed on his new book, and the critic calls him a 'magniloquent spoony'.
It's a funny moment because in the beginning, he thinks it's a huge compliment and the only compliment that he has gotten for the book.
When he looks up the dictionary, 'magniloquent' means someone who speaks in bombastic language, someone who uses very heavy vocabulary and a 'spoony' is someone who is foolishly amorous.
When I read that, I was like, that's me.
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