Angira Dhar, the girl we all adored in Ronnie Screwvala’s film Love Per Square Foot , believes she was destined to be an actor. She started her acting career with the popular web-series, Bang Baaja Baarat, which was about a couple trying to get married despite societal problems. It featured a woman who enjoyed what she did. However, this is not new to Angira.
“I loved going to school. I have never enjoyed going to college as much as school. My mother and grandmother were teachers there. Although, I wasn’t a great student, I was doing quite well for myself,” says Angira, remembering her school days.
Though she was under constant scrutiny by her mother and grandmother, it did not stop her from being labelled a naughty kid. “I know this because I went to a school where my mother, grandmother and brother were with me. My brother was studying in the same school and was a good kid, so to speak — the teachers would not complain about him, as they did about me. So, I was termed naughty,” she says laughingly.
Fondness for frames
Her love for cinema too is not new, and dates back to her school days. She always found frames interesting, especially during exams. Talking about how much she used to abhor math, she reminisces about one specific math exam: “I hated Math. Once, I zoned out in a math exam because I was staring at a boy in the class, not in a romantic way but more in a cinematic way. I was lost because of how beautifully a shaft of light was falling on him, and I missed out on most of my math paper because I was looking at how gorgeous that frame was, in front of me.”
School vs. college
College days were fun too, though she stresses on how it was school she preferred. Although she was in a commerce college, she admits that she was never good with numbers. Surrounded with future CAs, MBAs and IAS officers, Angira knew that this was not what she wanted to do. “I honestly did not have a plan for my life at that time, but I knew I had to complete my graduation. I belong to an academic family. So, I was withheld from pursuing arts and thus ended up in a commerce college. It was fun, but I was only looking to get my degree and move on to pursuing what I actually loved doing, which was to do with the entertainment field.”
While talking about getting her first break as an actor, Angira agreed with her family’s mindset about the importance of a degree. “Acting was something I wanted to do, always and forever. But I could never plan it because I belong to an academic family where kids are expected to grow up to, get jobs and live the conventional way, much like our parents. I was always told that I had to complete my studies, which I did. Entering the entertainment field was not planned ; it just happened by a quirk of fate.”
Life lessons
Her journey from being spotted by Shanu Sharma, the casting director of Yashraj Films, outside Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre to being the leading lady of Love Per Square Foot, has been a learning experience. However, when asked about one life lesson that she will never forget, she remembers the words of her her close friend and director, Anand Tiwari. “He said, ‘Acting is done through your soul. It is about being transparent. It is about letting your character speak through you, despite you’. That is something that I am going to keep with me for the rest of my acting career, for the rest of my life.”
She adds, “I could pursue acting because I was never passionate about anything else. I am extremely grateful that I could fearlessly do what I am doing and I hope I continue doing it.”
Referring to school and college as part of one’s upbringing, Angira tells budding actors,“Never give up, believe in yourself. If you have the conviction, if you feel you can do it, so will everybody else.”
