Anushka Kaushik: First director to make me do workshops

Anushka Kaushik

She started her journey in the entertainment business with sketches and short-form content on YouTube, but the hunger for more challenging parts made Anushka Kaushik train her focus on Hindi cinema and digital entertainment. "When I started my journey, all I wanted to do was act. Now, I want to be part of good projects and work with talented directors. It has become easier to get roles, but good roles are still hard to come by," says the actor, who has been part of Crash Course, Thar, Ghar Wapasi, and the recently released SonyLIV series, Garmi.

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, the nine-episode series revolves around college politics and how it changes the lives of students. While she has never actively participated in college politics, Kaushik says she witnessed it while studying at Delhi University. "I was never part of the student [union], but they always acted as a bridge between the management and students." Ask her what drew her to the role, and she says that the deep desire to work with Dhulia and the story made the decision a no-brainer. "The casting [agent] said that Tigmanshu sir saw some of my [sketches] and wanted me to play a character. Having seen most of Sir's work earlier, which was the selling point, I always harboured a dream to work with him. He is the first director to make me do workshops before shooting. That became my school because I had never formally learnt acting. He said, ‘You perform and improvise; I will place the camera accordingly.' Before my first scene with him, he asked me how many seconds it would take me to cry. I said five, and he told me to do it in three."

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During another scene, when the camera rolled, Kaushik remembers going blank. She shares, "I imagined Tigmanshu sir's Ramadhir Singh character [from Gangs of Wasseypur] telling me, ‘Beta, tumse na ho paayega.'"