Look beyond the hashtag

Srishti Dixit

In the lockdown, when everything came to a standstill, content creator Srishti Dixit received a call, asking that she audition for a Yash Raj Films production. Her first instinct - that it was "a scam." But soon, she learnt that director Vijay Krishna Acharya was making The Great Indian Family with Vicky Kaushal, and he was keen that Dixit play his on-screen sister. "I recorded my audition and sent it to them. Then I spoke to Viktor [Acharya] sir, who said, ‘My wife and daughters are your fans. Your Kanpuriya accent is nice, and we want exactly that for the film,'" she recalls.

Soon, Dixit found herself on the set of her debut film. It doubled up as an acting school as she watched Kaushal and the ensemble cast, including Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and Manushi Chhillar, perform. "I would ask Vicky many questions about acting. I learnt so much by observing how he would prepare for a scene and go over his lines."

Of late, there has been an influx of digital content creators in Bollywood. Dixit's peers Kusha Kapila and Prajakta Koli have become frequent faces in movies and web series. "We [keep saying], ‘Kahaan se kahaan aa gaye hum'. When we started making videos, we never thought this would be possible." However, she points out that at times, they have to fight stereotypes. "Usually, my peers would be asked to play an influencer or the protagonist's social media-savvy best friend. But it also depends on how a casting director envisions you. I have auditioned for many acting-based parts. So, it's slowly changing."