Ridhi Dogra never wanted to do films due to 'fake and manufactured' fame there: 'I wasn't ready to go to their parties'

SHe began her calling on TV, transitioned to OTT, and in betwixt, found clip to seem in films too. Call in her an 'all-format' specialist, and Ridhi Dogra laughs off such tags. The actor says she is just happy to be part of good stories. In an unfiltered chat with Hindustan Times, Ridhi talks about her transition from television, why she never wanted to do films, and the time when she thought Ekta Kapoor would throw her out of her office. (Also read: But she worked with Fawad Khan: Ridhi Dogra says she was 'bullied' for taking a stand against Abir Gulaal after Pahalgam)Before she became an actor, Ridhi was an anchor on TV, moderating a Bollywood show. "I have tasted a 9-to-5 job and come on this creative side, too. I have seen both. Here, it's like giving life to something you discussed in a boardroom. That process is so maddening and so magical that the medium matters less after a while," she says, talking about her transition to acting across mediums.On her blunt feedback to Ekta KapoorRidhi made her acting debut in 2007 with the TV show Jhoome Jiya Re, before finding success with shows like Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi and Maryada. In 2020, she made her OTT debut with a small role in Asur, before getting a lead role in Ekta Kapoor's The Married Woman. However, Ridhi recalls that she wasn't sold on the show initially. "I didn't like the first draft of the script I got," she said. And even though she didn't know Ekta, the actor decided to tell the studio head her feedback. "I went to Ekta straightaway and told her. By then, I had met her just a couple of times. I thought it's over. But even then, I thought I had to be honest. In my head, I thought even if she removes me from her office or says, 'I don't want to see this person ever again', I need to be honest," says Ridhi with a laugh.Recalling the meeting, she says, "I couldn't even speak, but she took it so sportingly. I could tell that she was upset that I questioned what they were thinking of. I was ready to leave. But nothing like that happened." Eventually, Ridhi starred in The Married Woman and received praise for it. The role led to further appearances in shows like TVF Pitchers 2, Mumbai Diaries 2, and Kull.Ask her the one takeaway from that moment of blunt honesty, and Ridhi says, "I learnt being honest while being dignified from this. Whenever I have been honest, while being dignified, it has helped. You can't be mean, hurtful, or ruthless under the garb of honesty."‘I never wanted to do films’For the first decade and a half of her acting career, Ridhi stayed away from films. Many rightly assumed she wasn't interested. "I never wanted to do films," says the actor. She did make her film debut in 2023 with Lakadbaggha and then went on to appear in two of the biggest Hindi films of the year—Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan and Salman Khan's Tiger 3.But her experience of being in the film industry has not changed Ridhi's mind. She explains, "Now that I am doing films, I am seeing exactly what I stayed away due to. It is difficult here. You don't need to be in a group or anything, but the stakes are so high that everything from branding, imaging, and perception is next level. Then I have to decide whether I want that fame. Most of the actors we love have got that from the audience. So, if the audience gives it to me, I will happily take everything. But am I going to manufacture it, manipulate it? No! I was never ready for it - that godfather dhoondhna chahiye ya inki parties mein jaana chahiye. Main nahin kar sakti woh (I should look for a godfather or go to some parties because I can't do all that)."Ridhi admits that films happened accidentally, but she is content with just working for now. "I was happy doing my work on TV and then on OTT. Somewhere in my journey, I understood going to the set and enjoying the work was more important than fixating on the fame and glory, with most of it being fake and manufactured," she says.Summing up her experience of being in the film world, the actor says, "You have put a lot of your values on the line. You literally go very close to selling your soul. In small things, you have to let go of your principles and adjust. When you don't care about the lies, it's very scary."Ridhi was last seen on the big screen in The Sabarmati Report, which won her a few awards as well. She was set to be seen in a supporting role in Abir Gulaal, but the film's release was delayed indefinitely after the Pahalgam terror attack.