Ridhima Pandit, who is essaying a pivotal role in Netflix’s ‘Sikander Ka Mukkadar’ got in an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal and poured her heart out on taking up the film, her experience of working with Neeraj Pandey, women centric films and a lot more.
How do you balance the pressures of staying relevant in a fast-paced industry while staying true to your authentic self?
This question in itself is very interesting and to tell you the truth, I do feel the pressure of being relevant in the age of social media where people are just probably doing a reality show and becoming famous overnight. It’s getting difficult to do the actual hard work and remain relevant. So, I do my level best while I’m true and authentic is because I think that’s the only way. If I try and be someone else, I don’t think people will like me because it’s not something that I have gained overnight fame, I’ve to work my way through many, many years and mediums and then there comes a show where you get noticed and where you’re very, very loved. So, staying relevant, is a bit of a pressure, but I don’t let it get to me because otherwise, I would start doing anything and everything and that would just not do justice to the craft that I have to offer to the world.
The title Sikandar Ka Muqaddar resonates with themes of leadership and destiny. In the context of today’s elections, what qualities do you think a great leader should embody, both on-screen and in real life?
For me, destiny plays a big role in every part of your life, but does not mean you feel your thumbs and keep sitting for it to happen for you. God is going to give you these ways to lead and you have to keep at it, you have to figure out how to be the leader of your own life because there’s nobody who’s coming to save you. A leader for me is somebody who trusts in themselves and lets others grow as well and that could be in the form of delegation, that could be in the form of just sitting back and watching somebody do well and looking after their people.
You’ve explored different genres in your career. Is there a particular type of character or story you feel most drawn to, and why?
I’ve always believed in playing characters which stand out, whether it’s from playing Rajni the robot, or playing Amrita the cop, or playing Devina the responsible woman. I think I’ve been very, very clear about playing roles that are very women centric. I would love to watch more of that and play more of that. And, I guess my personality looks as if I’m somebody very, very strong, but I’ll tell you a little secret. I do like to be taken care of once in a while.
Your upcoming film Sikandar Ka Muqaddar is helmed by the renowned Neeraj Pandey. How was your experience working with him, and what new aspects of filmmaking did you learn during this project?
Working with Neeraj Pandey, sir, is an experience. I think I have honed better skills when it comes to my art because I’ve literally just put my head down. I’ve gone to work. I have greeted everyone a good morning, good day. I’ve stayed in character. It was one of the most D-Glam characters that I have been a part of and taking the vanity away from the actor can do two things. Either it can make the actor a little insecure or it can make the actor very, very free minded and just focus on the craft, and for me it was the latter. This is just the beginning, and I do have a feeling that I’m going to work with sir once again in some other project, God willing. There’s just so much to learn. I think he’s an encyclopedia by himself, you just watch and learn.
What’s your take on the evolving role of women in Indian cinema, both on-screen and off-screen? Do you think the industry is moving in the right direction?
It’s outstanding, and it’s our time to focus on women centric projects. These stories have always been there, but they’re more prevalent now and that’s exactly how it should be. When it comes to Hindi cinema, there’s still a lot of conversation around respecting women, but the intent has always been clear, It has always been like that. Having the opportunity to work in other industries, I can say that I haven’t felt as good about working anywhere else as I do here. I think, in particular we are heading in the right direction.
