Actor Geetika Vidya Ohlyan has defied stereotypes from the moment she made her big screen debut, leaving an indelible mark with her brilliant performance as a fearless police officer combating misogyny in the 2018 crime drama Soni. Her career has been a powerhouse of impactful roles, including standout performances in Thappad, the OTT anthology Unpaused, Escaype Live, School of Lies, Punjab 95 alongside Diljit Dosanjh, the beloved festival gem ‘Dilli Dark,’ all the way to her most recent cinematic outing, Opium.
Geetika is once again shattering the glass ceiling with her exceptional performance as a food delivery agent in director Aman Sachdeva's Opium This film, which has been receiving resounding success at prestigious national and international film festivals, such as the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Kerala International Film Festival, further cements her reputation as a remarkable talent in the industry.
In the anthology Opium, there are five different short stories, ranging from comedy to sci-fi and feel-good narratives. Geetika plays one of the protagonists, taking on the role of a food delivery valet in Mumbai to support her college education. The film also stars Vinay Pathak, Sharib Hashmi, Dilip Prabhavalkar, and Manu Rishi. This marks Geetika's second anthology, following her work in Unpaused.
To truly understand her character Ashrafa in Opium, Geetika drew from her own college experiences. For her college education, Geetika moved from Haryana to Delhi and took her scooter along.
“For my collegiate education, I had moved from Haryana to Delhi University with my scooter . After literature classes the whole day and theatre rehearsals until late evening and I could only get out of my college at night. That’s when I discovered the unparalleled joy of riding my scooter- on empty roads at night. My mother gave me my scooter and my brother gave the courage to ride whenever I wanted to and freedom I was born with. Some parts of this journey shaped Ashrafa," said Geetika, who received her Master’s degree in English Literature and was actively involved in Kirori Mal College Theatre Society ‘The Players‘:
The actress is also proud of the film's journey to various international film festivals and its impact on audiences. “I'm pleased for the director as he's reaching a wider audience, and the audience gets to experience diverse characters in Opium dealing with their unique situations. Watching these characters on screen gives us the luxury of using our intellect to analyse the situations, unlike real-life situations where muscle memory often dictates our survival,” said Geetika.
Meanwhile, the actress is elated that three of her films namely Dilli Dark and Fairy Folk have been selected at the prestigious MAMI 2023. She can't wait for the audience to watch her films at the festival.