Ridhi Dogra on TV content: 'None of the experimental, progressive shows work, why will the makers repeat them?'
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Ridhi Dogra opens up about the quality of shows on TV, the vast urban and rural divide in India and more.
Actor Ridhi Dogra, who had her new show, The Married Woman, land online earlier this week, has said that content creators of Indian television shows are not only willing, but have also tried their hands at progressive TV shows. However, it is the audience that keeps rejecting such stuff, making it difficult for the show makers to produce content that is novel, experimental and progressive.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Ridhi opened up about the quality of shows on our television, her understanding of the vast urban and rural divide in India, and her latest show produced by Ekta Kapoor, The Married Woman. Ridhi has worked in popular shows including Rishta.com and Yeh Hai Aashiqui. She has also worked in a few web shows, and her most recent and remarkable appearance was in Arshad Warsi's Asur.
Here's an excerpt:
There have been experiments, but why is Indian TV largely filled with regressive content?
A lot of TV is reflective of the society. We have had great shows, and as creative people, we believe we are doing great work, but they do not work at all. I have known people who run channels and work in creative teams. None of them want to do what they are doing. They want to show progressive women... want to, but do not get the TRPs. At the end of the day we are all working for our advertisers.
I have worked in shows where I felt I am doing great work, but the market research told us ‘it is not working'. It is disappointing. I have to put this out to the audience, reject stuff. Do you have a problem with what you see on TV? Reject it! Do not watch it, do not just sit in front of the TV just because it is supplied to you. If people start doing that, things will change. If there is money riding on you, you may take risks, but it will be wrapped up in secure spaces. Like there was a show called Everest, there are so many shows that are good and progressive, but they do not do well. Why will they (producers) repeat those concepts? They won’t!
How has our society changed in terms of accepting women who exercise their freedom to choose?
I must tell you this. While on way to Delhi from Jaipur (during promotions for The Married Woman), there was a lot of traffic and we took a detour. We were crossing a village in Haryana. I did not see a single girl or women on the streets! I could not see a girl anywhere. I was like ‘what would it feel like having dreams in places like this? There are girl sitting in their homes, they have dreams. What it takes for them to come out of this house? It is a lot'. And, then, we entered the city touching that village. I saw girls there, wearing jeans and tshirts, walking with their bags, girls with their fathers. You’d need so much courage to step out there. For 100 men, there were 10 women. For 10 men, there would be one girl. I remember I saw this little girl stepping outside her house. I was like ‘this is the only time they will be okay with her stepping out like this. After this, everything is going to watched, corrected and controlled'.
What I mean to tell you is, that we have two very different worlds in our country – urban and rural India. A lot of people make that shift from rural to urban because this is where you have the opportunities. Now it is normal to talk about gender equality, mental health, women and their needs. That is a huge shift, but it happens mostly in urban parts.
We form a very different part of the country and it is very important for us to keep discussing things. There is someone over there who needs to make that shift. She needs us to keep talking, so she knows where to find people like her. That (rural India) is a closed world where you cannot go and tell them ‘I will show you a better way of thinking and living’. No. They are happy with their own limited lives. That is their world and they are the kings of their world. But, if someone has dreams over there, it is very hard for her to come out.
Have you read Manju Kapur's book that inspired your show, The Married Woman?
Half way through the book, I was told that the show is not going to be entirely the book, so I did not complete it. I did not want to get consumed by what is in there. I read parts of it to understand my character, Astha Kapoor.
What was your biggest challenge while working on your character, Astha Kapoor and preparing for it?
My main struggle was to ensure I do not end up making my character look like a bechari (helpless). I have played female protagonists in serials where everything happens around her to make it look like she is the centre of it all.
What normally happens in TV shows is, just to get audience to root for her, we end up making her look like bechari. We make everybody else do bad things to her, she is crying, so we feel for her. She is laughing when she wants to cry, so we feel for her. We just want the audience to feel bad for her and root for her. I was pretty clear I did not want that.
I kept checking with my director. The fourth or fifth day into the shoot, I asked him, not in as many words, but I was like ‘hum TV to nahi (I hope we are not doing TV)’. Everybody has a different way of looking at it. I did not want to downgrade anything but I was like ‘I hope I am not looking…’ and he said, ‘bechari? No you are not.’
Also read: Divyanka Tripathi says she was ‘almost tortured’ when she started out
So that was my biggest challenge. When everything in the script is made to work for a character, it may end up looking like ‘oh, so convenient! Just because she is the main protagonist, everybody is doing things to favour the character’. The Married Woman is not like that, every character is etched out for their own journey and life. I did not want to look like ‘I am the confluence of everything’.
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.