Heart’s wish

After expressing her desire to portray poet and novelist Amrita Pritam in a film, actress Rasika Dugal said she would also want to enact late star Meena Kumari on screen.

“I have always wanted to play Amrita Pritam. To be Amrita Pritam in a biopic about her. But if it was an actress, then I think it would be Meena Kumari,” said the actress, who was honoured with the Diversity Champion award at the 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

About getting feted with the award, she said, “As actors we make some very difficult choices in our careers, and one is always second-guessing one’s choices because of a lack of precedence or a standard because every actor’s journey is so unique that there are no set landmarks or benchmarks to hit, so you are always wondering if you have made the correct choice or not. And I guess an award like a Diversity Champion suggests to me that they are honouring the choices I have made in my career so far. That kind of validation is very encouraging.”

So, what is more important for her — box-office numbers or winning awards? “Neither because these are things that are not in my control. I can only sort of worry about work, which I have some sort of control over,” she said. The actress said that she of course values something that is being viewed a lot because that gives her more ‘choices, opens up more opportunities and helps me support a project I really want to do’.