Sobhita Dhulipala may not have grown up with acting dreams, but she was always a geeky, curious child. The extension of the personality is perhaps also what has helped the actormade a mark in her career of nearly seven years, as Sobhita credits her hunger to prove a point as an artiste for helping her sail so far.
“I wasn’t educated in the film world, so everything I have learnt, I have learnt on the job,” the actor tells indiaexpress.com as she opens up about how a girl from Visakhapatnam has carved her own space in films and the OTT space.
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The actor is currently gearing up for season two of the Disney Plus Hotstar show The Night Manager, which also stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Anil Kapoor. The show is Sobhita’s follow up to the breakout International Emmy Awards nominated series Made in Heaven, which put the actor on the global map.
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In an interview with indiaexpress.com, Sobhita talks about how she was under confident for The Night Manager season 1 as it was split into two, the challenge of bagging desired projects, why season two of the show gave her more space to perform and how she doesn’t look down upon commercial cinema, even as a section assumes she wants to stay away from Bollywood’s song-and-dance films.
Edited excerpt:
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The show broke out in a major way, despite being spliced in two chapters. How do you process the response today?
It felt really nice that people embraced it, even though it is just one part of the story. We are used to watching an entire season, a story to its competition. I was curious to see how this land, but it was largely positive, which was encouraging. Part two has more, it is the unveiling of what we introduced in part one. There is more confidence attached with this one, because there is more meat in the story.
I was positive about the whole show, but when you break it up in two parts, I know what is coming, the audiences don’t. So, I was curious, I was not too confident because there is only so much of the story you are giving. And after a point you lose your sense of objectivity, is it still holding one’s interest? I couldn’t gauge… But I personally have had a really enjoyable time with the content of part two because I have had more to perform, more space to play, my character goes through a lot of highs and lows.
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Sandeep Modi in an interview said when the decision was made to divide the series in two parts, he called you up and apologised as the audience wouldn’t get to know the full extent of her part in the first chapter.
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Here’s how I look at it. The first episode of part two is kind of the middle ground of the show, and when that is taken away from the first chapter, all you have is the set up and this girl, who is pleasant on the eye, you are not sure what her intentions are, but you don’t have enough of her beyond the obvious. Sure, she is glamourous and is what this man, has an attraction somewhere. We get her on the surface, but it doesn’t really go deep and somewhere I think female characters really suffer because people are just used to a girl being just that. I wanted to be a part of it because there was a little more, and when that more is not offered….
What happens on the day a film is released or a show is dropped, how much of the reviews do you follow? And do you feel a more confident actor today?
With shows, there is no box office anxiety. It is quite interesting how my career has played out for me, because I was quite conscious of the fact that I had come from a modelling background. It was only a year of modelling and then Miss India (happened). I was this geeky girl, very disconnected to this (film) world. I was curious as a spectator; I didn’t think I had a shot at actually being a part of it or that a proper career would be carved out for someone who is so disconnected from it.
My earlier choices were heavily influenced by the fact that I wanted people to know that I was interested in performance, that I could be counted on to deliver. It was a priority for me. I was taking parts that gave me this opportunity. Of course, if something obviously mainstream came along with song and dance, I would do it too, but if such an opportunity didn’t come way, I will not sit back and whine. What I could do was to make choices that allowed me to perform. I have deep respect for the craft of acting. I look not for sensationalist stardom. I want to have a meaningful career; get to discover who I am through it. That can only happen if I am making choices that challenge me.
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Your initial films were all in that direction, including the segment in Ghost Stories…
My films like Raman Raghav, Moothoon, Kaalakaandi, these are not front footed commercial movies, but you make the best out of what comes your way. With the same spirit, I made choices on OTT when it hadn’t even boomed in the country. I was curious to do a good job, that’s when Made in Heaven happened. It gave me visibility, that allowed producers top see me as an asset. I am learning on the job. Honestly, I would love to do commercial cinema, I have nothing against it. I think people assume, because of the kind of choices so far, that I am not interested in it but that’s not true. I am a dancer, but I have not had a chance to expose that. I want to sample it all.
Is it difficult to bag these projects, the kinds you truly desire?
I am not in a race. If a female actor’s career is a curve, I am a tangent. I hope to find longevity, I want to take up parts that offer me a variety of emotions. There is no struggle, it is a choice. I am not waiting to be ‘picked.’ I am hopeful somebody sees potential in me to do something like that, something different from what I have done. But there is no no age anxiety; I don’t think in that direction at all.