Jim Sarbh, Rasika Dugal on finding their feet in big, bad world of Bollywood

Hasan: How difficult is it for someone without a film lineage to make it in Bollywood?
Dugal: He's made it to Bollywood; I am still lingering on the fringes.
Sarbh: What nonsense! You are now Ms Bollywood; people invite you to events; you are acting with Nawazuddin Siddiqui…
Dugal: (Laughs) I think it's difficult because filmmaking is a collaborative exercise and people tend to work with people they are comfortable with. It happens in the indie as well as the commercial film set-up, something I am still battling.
Sarbh: For me, it was pure, beautiful luck that I debuted in a Ram Madhvani film, so I have no idea. They liked my audition and fortunately, the film did well. Now, I am enjoying working on Padmavati, which, Iâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088think, will release later this year. But I don't know these details as I am on a need-to-know basis, because, you see, I am not that important (laughs). So much of breaking into any new world is like a birthing process. You are safe in your nice world of theatre, and then you are out, navigating a ruthless commercial machine. But you find moments within that, full of connection.
Dugal: Those are the moments that make it worth it. That's what I find exciting about being on a film set, where everything around you is trying to not make you do your work. But you do it anyway.

Hasan: For someone of unconventional looks…
Sarbh: Does that mean ugly?
Dugal: No, she means very good looking, otherwise she wouldn't have brought it up. I don't know what it means, but I think it's fun to have something unconventional in Bombay because when people want somebody of that kind, they'll call you. I don't mind being typecast in that way. What do you think?
Sarbh: It is cool to know that if they were looking for someone slightly off kilter, they'd think Jim. But I like varied roles, which I got to do in theatre. The more we widen our idea of what a lead could be, the richer society becomes.
Dugal: I think it is happening with more layered or just nicer scripts and I am encouraged by that.

(Chicken Full House with an egg-white omelette for Dugal and scrambled eggs for Sarbh arrives.)
Hasan: Your dishes are quite similar.
Dugal: That's an actor thing, no? Egg white and all that.
Sarbh: If my meal has enough protein and vegetables, I am happy. When I am training to look a certain way, my food window is reduced to six hours. If I eat at 1 pm, my dinner would be at 7.
Dugal: I have disciplined and undisciplined times. But I like to be mindful about what I eat. At the same time, I always fantasise about food.

Hasan: What space does the entertainment industry offer to indie cinema and online content?
Dugal: The web has definitely changed things. It has given an opportunity to actors like me and first-time producers like Tisca [Chopra]. I had never imagined that [the short film] Chutney would get 100-million views. But I don't know how long it is until it becomes a space that requires a lot of money for publicity.
Sarbh: I hope it thrives. But the very nature of indie means it never quite gets the same kind of space. Every now and then, a work comes out that is called the game changer, but then 10 others follow the same formula and fail. Commercial ventures are always ruthless. It's that simple.

Dugal: I want to use that line...
Sarbh: What's weird is when you see yourself become ruthless on a set.
Dugal: What's weirder is when unconventional ventures become ruthless. That's heart-breaking.
Sarbh: That is the worst. And then, at times, in commercial cinema, you end up working in a sweet, family-like environment.
Dugal: That's why, the role and the money is important, but a big factor is what I feel about my colleagues. There needs to be trust and respect for the people I am working with.

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