Rasika: The subject of Delhi Crime needed to be dealt with sensitivity

Rasika Dugal in Delhi Crime

Ever so rarely, an actor comes across a piece of art so strong that it almost becomes cathartic. For Rasika Dugal, Delhi Crime proved to be that. Based on the 2012 Nirbhaya case, the Richie Mehta-directed series was widely appreciated for its powerful storytelling. "All of us had felt a lot of emotions about the Nirbhaya incident. [Among other emotions], I felt the guilt of having moved on from it too quickly. By being a part of this show, I tended to the incident in the way I wanted to," says Dugal, whose quiet but steely act as probationary officer Neeti Singh has earned her a Best Supporting Actor (Female) nomination in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards.

The actor reveals that she did two rounds of auditions for the police procedural - one for the casting director, and another with co-star Shefali Shah. "The subject needed to be dealt with a lot of sensitivity. But I was confident that Richie would have written something important." To prep for the series, Dugal shadowed a police officer. "I didn't want to depict anything incorrectly in the police procedural. If I am playing a cop, I [can't afford to] get the salute wrong. Similarly, I will never do a scene where I am seen waking up with make-up. These are few things I had in mind when I graduated from film school," she smiles.

Her conscientious approach has held her in good stead. The actor is one of the few artistes to have bagged two nominations at the upcoming gala, including the Best Actor (Female) nod for her act in Out of Love. "Since I had never headlined a show, before Out of Love, I wanted to check if I could hold the audience's attention when I am in every frame."

Rasika Dugal in Out of Love

She credits directors Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aijaz Khan for extracting a fine performance from her in the drama. "I remember being anxious while doing the dinner-table sequence. I felt my emotions were not intense enough for the camera [but the director okayed the shot]. Finally, when I saw it on screen, it was pitch-perfect."

More about Delhi Crime, Out of Love

• The makers of Delhi Crime didn't get an official nod from Nirbhaya's parents to narrate the story. It was alluded that they raised concerns about its fictional nature
• The house that forms the backdrop in Out of Love was the one also seen as the Kapoors' residence in Kapoor & Sons (2016)

Cast your vote for the Hitlist Web Awards

Rasika Dugal has been nominated in the Best Actor (Female) category for Hotstar's Out of Love. The other nominees are:

• Shefali Shah (Delhi Crime; Netflix)
• Sobhita Dhulipala (Made in Heaven; Amazon Prime)
• Shweta Tripathi Sharma (Laakhon Mein Ek; Amazon Prime)
• Geetanjali Kulkarni (Gullak; Sony LIV)
• Mithila Palkar (Little Things S03; Netflix)
• Dia Mirza (Kaafir; Zee5)

Dugal is also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Female) category for Netflix's Delhi Crime. The other nominees are:

• Shivani Raghuvanshi (Made in Heaven; Amazon Prime)
• Priyamani (The Family Man; Amazon Prime)
• Amruta Subhash (Sacred Games S02; Netflix)
• Nidhi Singh (MOM; ALTBalaji)
• Navni Parihar (Little Things S03; Netflix)

There are 14 categories that the public can vote in. Log on to www.hitlistwebawards.com to cast your vote.

• You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c/d as on the website) to 57575.
• Voting lines close on March 8.

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