Transition stage
Actress Radhika Apte's love for the performing arts is taking her places
I fell in love with theatre when I was in school. As a student, I was involved in dance, art and theatre competitions. Later, I joined Fergusson College in Pune only because its cultural wing was very active.
The first turning point of my life came in 2003 when I joined the Pune-based theatre group, Aasakta, and acted in the play, Brain Surgeon. It was only after this experience that I began to pursue theatre more seriously. I realised that apart from being sincere, actors have to be very disciplined and dedicated towards their work. I was also inspired by Mohit Takalkar, a theatre director who started Aasakta, and went on to work with him in a number of plays.
The next turning point came when I acted in a Marathi play called Purnaviram. My performance was appreciated and I got my first Hindi film offer — Ram Gopal Varma's Rakht Charitra. Soon, I began acting in various regional language films — Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.
I have always been interested in different forms of art. In 2006 I attended contemporary dance workshops in Pune conducted by Gauri Vanarase, a dance enthusiast. I found these workshops extremely exhilarating. I also went on to do a course in contemporary dance from London in 2010. This was another major milestone in my career.
Currently, apart from plays, I am also doing a number of films. My forthcoming releases include Pendulum and Rupkotha Noy in Bengali, Vetri Selvan in Tamil, and Vaasu and Mountain Man in Hindi. I am also doing a trilingual film called The Bright Day.
(As told to Yashodeep Sengupta)