I LIED TO MY MOTHER I WAS GOING TO PUNE BUT CAME TO MUMBAI TO TAKE UP ACTING, DIPTI DHOTRE tells Senior JYOTHI VENKATESH in this exclusive free, frank and bold interview

Dipti Dhotre is a successful actor in the Marathi film industry today, who after having acted in films like Bonga, Mulshi Pattern etc, is looking forward to the release of her films like Bhirkit, Vishay Close and last but not the least Sarvanam.

In this exclusive and intimate interview I had with Dipti at her modest home in Goregaon, over hot khichdi cooked by her, she says that an actor needs a Godfather only if she lacks luck as well as talent, not otherwise.

Was acting always in your mind?

Yes. I hail from a very conservative family in Solapur. I had always wanted to take up acting as a career but did not know how to go about it since I did not know anyone from the film industry.

My first brush with glamour was when I joined a local news channel as an anchor as well as newsreader. Even while I was studying in college, I was working with the local channel and doing scripting as well as directing ads.

Go on!

I decided to upgrade myself when I realized that I did not have sources to come to Mumbai and try my luck in films and hence shifted to Pune and started doing my MBA.

Did you rebel to realize your ambition?

Yes. I rebelled in the sense that I lied to my mother that I was still in Pune when actually I had shifted to Mumbai and started doing my own share of auditions to pursue acting

When did you bag your break?

It was while struggling in Mumbai that I bagged the offer to act in the Marathi film Dom. IU acted in two more films which did not even see the light of the day

With which film did you make your debut in Bollywood?

Dhara 302 in which I was cast opposite Rufi Khan was my debut film in Hindi. It was a disaster and I was very disheartened.

Then?

My journey actually started after Dhaara 302 flopped in the sense that I started meeting all the A lister directors in Mumbai and bagged films like Mulshi Pattern, Sarvanaam, Bonga etc.

Mulshi Pattern which was remade in Hindi as Anthim gave me a lot of name while Bonga fetched the national award. I bagged Subhash Ghai’s Vijeta but by the time the film was released the lockdown was clamped.

You are also doing a web series in Hindi. Tell me something about that?

I am playing a negative role in the web series called Inspector Avinash directed by Neeraj Pathak. All that I can disclose about my role is that I play a dreaded dacoit in it

Did you have any apprehension about playing a badass dacoit for the first time in your career?

No one is bad as a human being. It is just the circumstances that make a person good or bad and each and every person has a good as well as a bad side to him or her and hence it was not at all hard to convince myself to do that role. I was glad that efforts paid off when director Neeraj Pathak appreciated me a lot

It is seven years since you began as an actor and you have over 15 films as an actor. Have you evolved as an actor over the last seven years?

It has been a long journey for me since 2015 and I feel that I have still a long way to go as an actress as I feel that after the release of every film of yours, you have got to struggle a lot.

Everyone is destined to achieve what you dream of achieving. Sometimes you get a role because of an audition whereas sometimes you bag a role even without going through an audition.

Can you explain?

I have changed a lot as an actor. I grew up watching the films of Kajol, Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan. I think over the years, the acting pattern has completely changed a lot and thankfully, it is not loud any more.

Acting is more natural now and I am able to easily grasp my character much better and I have learned the art of living my character in front of the camera effortlessly.

Which are your forthcoming films?

Birkit, Vishay Close, Narak etc are the films which are in the offing besides the web series Inspector Avinash.

Which are the actors that you admire a lot?

My favorites are Sai Tamhankar, Mukta Barve, Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan and Alia Bhatt among the actresses. Among the male actors, my favorites are Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Prabhas, Allu Arjunand last bit not the least Amitabh Bachchan.

As a glamorous woman living all alone in the city of Mumbai, what do you have to state about the concept of virginity?

Look here. Being a virgin or not is a completely personal choice. All that I can say frankly is that virginity isn’t important enough to judge whether a girl is good or bad. There is a big world out here beyond virginity too

Do you believe in sex before marriage or after marriage?

As sex is created by God, I do not think sex ought to be given priority, whether it is before or after marriage. I am glad that the mentality of the average Indian man or woman has changed over the years.

What do you think about the syndrome of the ubiquitous casting couch?

I believe in karma a lot. Those who indulge in the casting couch syndrome are never successful. It affects you definitely when you force someone to do what she does not wish to do. Yes.

Thanks to the casting couch, I have lost several good projects till date but I am not at all disillusioned about the industry. I am of the opinion that if you have luck and talent, you do not need any Godfather