Ridhi Dogra: Will do rom-com only if I can break some norms

I am all about loverdquo says Ridhi Dogra gleefully who has added a romcom to her resume with Amazon miniTVrsquos Badtameez Dil But it wasnrsquot only love in the air as the actor was juggling it with the shoot of the mythological thriller Asur While both shows were intense the actor admits that playing a naiumlve romantic woman was tougher than playing a forensic officer So how did she straddle the two contrasting worlds Over to Dogra as she talks about romance roles and moreEdited excerpts from the interviewBadtameez Dil revolves around modernday love What is your take on itI donrsquot think love is modern or old itrsquos a universal emotion and is always relevant Love is not so much about the things we do but itrsquos about the values that we carry into a relationship Be it GenZ or millennials or boomers the key to love is to have the right set of values mdash integrity loyalty trust friendship and respect I donrsquot think swiping left and right on dating apps is love But at the end of the day everybody is looking for it We have all become thickskinned independent and strong but I guarantee you everybody is looking for a pair of eyes to connect withWould you make a fool of yourself in loveWhy not Now Irsquove become a little too careful But earlier Irsquove made a fool of myself in love Irsquove seen only what I wanted to see I see the good in people I was just reading something that Oprah Winfrey said When someone shows you the first time how good they are why do you not believe them Why do you have to see it 29 times to believe them I give people mdash whether it is friends colleagues or romantic partners mdash a lot of chances I keep looking for the good in peopleAsur and Badtameez Dil were shot at different times Was their backtoback release a coincidenceWe started shooting Asur a little before Badtameez Dil and then there was a bit of an overlap Barun Sobti and I have known each other for a few years When we went to shoot Badtameez Dil it was as if a portal had opened up mdash we were laughing and improvising When we went back to Asurrsquos shoot later we would crack up But since we are both professional we could slip into the roles in a few minutes We shot both series in 2021 but a lot of work was held back due to the pandemic It was a bonus for Asur the team got time to edit it and by the time it dropped online AI became a relevant subjectWhich show was more creatively satisfyingOh come on I am an actor I can never say this was better than that Irsquove always played strong opinionated women who stand up for something During my television years channels used to take us to tier 2 and 3 towns where I used to meet a lot of women and homemakers Early on I had decided that even if I do less work I want to play characters that stand for something That is the way I thought when I did Maryada Asur or even A Married WomanIf both show were creatively satisfying which one was more challengingBadtameez Dil had a completely different lens I have been around for a while but I have never had a whole show seen through the lens of love For me this was more challenging I have gone out of my way to make Liz characterrsquos name look like she had bodyimage and selfworth issues These were not said in dialogue but reflected through the character I wanted her to look uncomfortable with herself but a third person seeing her will find nothing wrong with her If I am ever to do a romcom again I will do it only if I am able to break some norms with it We have seen enough stories of women going from ugly duckling to a swan and as soon as she became beautiful she got the hero But I didnrsquot want to do that