Actor Swati Semwal is growing from strength to strength with well-chosen roles

Emerging actor Swati Semwal is totally opposite to the character, Radha, she plays in Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar, a web series directed by late director Raj Kaushal that’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In this series, she plays a strong-headed alpha female Radha who speaks her mind and is madly in love with her girlfriend.

“I have zero aggression and I am very girly, unlike Radha. I had to stop being myself at least half a month prior to the commencing of the shoot. I literally started walking, talking and breathing like Radha, so that I looked convincing in her part. At one point, even my friends got scared as they couldn't find me in me, and I stopped meeting them too. I came back to my original self only after we wrapped up filming for Akkad Bakkad,” recalls Semwal, who is creating a steady impact in the entertainment industry with her carefully chosen body of work.

Starting off with bit roles in Fanney Khan and Bareilly Ki Barfi, Swati is one of those young artistes who got noticed during the pandemic, when a majority of the audience turned to the OTT platforms for fresh and unusual content.

Here’s a short chat with Semwal on the road ahead:

How was it working with the late Raj Kaushal?

Raj Kaushal had faith in my process and let me create the character from scratch. He was a bundle of energy and we all were charged by his energy, his positivity and his faith in his dreams. He literally gambled with Akkad Bakkad and came out as a winner when it got sold to Amazon Prime Video.

From Bareilly ki Barfi to now, how has the journey been?

As an outsider, it's not just your journey as an artiste, but there are several other small things that we experience, which an insider would never know of, for example, sharing vanity vans and the treatment on sets. From Bareilly Ki Barfi till now my journey has been an uphill one and I’m happy with the kind of roles I get. I aspire to be like Rajkummar Rao and Ayushmann Khurrana who built their own niche.

Any new script or story you are writing?

I am developing something for a director who will debut in films after a successful stint in advertising. It's a comedy film and I will be acting in it too.

Any plans for directing?

I got an opportunity to direct a feature last year, but it was then that I realised I want to focus just on acting as of now.

Your upcoming projects?

There is a film called Demons directed by Rohit Mittal. It's an out and out performance-oriented film with just two actors, me and my co-actor. It's a relationship horror, a new genre altogether.

There's also an upcoming web series where I am playing a small but very strong part and I will be seen opposite Soham Shah. There's also another series called Lalla with actor Zeeshan Ayub. I am playing the female lead in that series.

Any actor you dream of working with?

Ranbir Kapoor, I fell in love with him after Rockstar. There is so much to learn from him.