Shivani Raghuvanshi on Dupahiya season 2, embracing complexity and letting her characters lead the way
It’s always a marvel to witness an actor who becomes inseparable from their role. Often, you see a good actor playing a character. But sometimes, you see only the character — and what a sight that is. Making her mark in the industry, and perhaps becoming one of the few who can burrow so deeply into a character that the line between actor and role begins to disappear, Shivani Raghuvanshi is carving her own path, one step at a time.
Speaking to Indulge about her portrayal of the complex Roshni Jha in Dupahiya, and how the character has evolved in the show’s second season, the actor opens up about trusting her instincts, finding her way through the industry, and the road ahead. Excerpts:
Could you tell us about your appearance in Dupahiya and what excited you most about your character’s arc in season 2?
What was really exciting about my character, Roshni, is that when you prepare for a character, you either try to find that character within you or find someone to draw from. You have a reference point in your head — this particular character reminds you of this person, and you take those nuances and move forward from there. But for Roshni, because I had never come across anyone quite like her, it was so fun to create her. We had multiple sessions with the director, Sonam Nair, who helped us to understand the character. Roshni, on paper, comes across as very manipulative and mean. But what Sona really wanted with this particular character was that she should be very sweet and someone who doesn’t actually know that she’s doing something odd on purpose. She’s somebody who attracts problems. And every time, even when she’s trying to solve and help somebody, she ends up kind of needing help from people to get her out of the situation. So it’s very interesting to create something where a woman starts thinking about herself or puts herself first; especially in our country, people may think that she’s very self-centred, or that she’s very dominating. So just to find that nuance and balance for her was very exciting.
Are you keen on exploring more roles that are not centred around a specific archetype? Is there anything that you want to do or a specific role that you’ve always envisioned?
There’s no specific role, but what I would really enjoy is exploring characters that are morally grey. I think we have enough sweet heroines — they’re usually very far from reality. I really enjoy when there’s a lot to do, like the character isn’t just one-dimensional, and where you can play on different emotions. I have played the girl-next-door, but I’d like to explore not just rom-coms — maybe a thriller.
What’s been your most challenging role thus far?
I would say Roshni because it was so difficult for me to have a reference point for her. There’s also a part that I played in Murder in Mahim, which is a show on Jio Hotstar; I played a policewoman there. The first thing is basically the physicality. But the character, Firdaus Rabbani, she was very different because she was dealing with a lot of things internally. She had her own battles, and was actually nothing like the kind of police personnel I’d seen in person. So just to break that stereotype was also initially a little challenging, but eventually very exciting.
What are you looking out for when you’re building a rapport with a co-star who you share the screen with?
I think that’s very organic, because it’s a small industry; sometimes you already know the person. So, every actor’s approach to a character is very different. I am an instinctive actor; maybe the other person is trained. With a few people, you have really good rapport in general. You meet them, and you connect immediately, and it becomes easier for you to kind of flow. There are a few instances where you don’t relate to a person at all, but they’re fabulous actors. It’s great if you connect on a personal level or if you really have a good rapport or great connection with that person. But even if you don’t, you still have to do your job. You can’t be completely dependent on what kind of equation you end up actually sharing with that person. Because you can’t have any control over how a person can be or will be. Sometimes you have a really bad equation or a really bad fight with your co-actor or somebody you’re working with, and the moment somebody says ‘action,’ you just play the best of friends. People come to you and say, ‘Oh, you guys shared such great chemistry on screen,’ but it’s because people are really, really skilled, and what goes on off-screen never translates on-screen, truly.
You’ve played a variety of characters over time, and while every character and your approach to them might be different, are there specific elements to your routine that stay constant throughout, despite the differences in what the roles demand?
I have never had proper training, and most of the characters that I have portrayed as of now have always been very instinctive. On the big screen, what you actually look for is in a character’s eyes. You connect with their eyes; you feel their pain or happiness. So I think one thing is that I really try to get the instincts right. I’ve tried to understand the characters, and I’ve tried to give them a human approach rather than just working the physicality — how this person should sit or walk or talk. That is secondary for me. The primary thing is that I need to understand the character well, and I need to feel for what that character is going through.
Are there any upcoming projects that you're looking forward to?
There’s a show called Civil Lines that was for Sony Liv, which we finished almost 4 years ago. So while we can’t give any details just yet, it’s one project that I’m looking forward to.
Dupahiya season 2 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.