Ritwika Gupta: Today, it’s not just enough to be talented

Chandigarh: It’s been almost a year since actor Sushant Singh Rajput passed away. His demise opened up many conversations about nepotism and the struggle that takes place in the cut-throat industry. In the last two years, we have seen the OTT space booming with fresh content and faces. Lines are blurring across regions as well. A recent example is that of Samantha Akkineni, a huge star in the south Industry, acting in the Hindi web-series ‘Family Man’ (Season 2) for Amazon Prime. But is it still easy for outsiders?  Actress Ritwika Gupta, who does not have any familial connection to the industry, admits it is still a tough path. Ritwika, who was seen in multiple Hindi shows like MTV’s youth-based show ‘Girls on Top’, ‘Preeto’ on NDTV Imagine and Channel V’s ‘Gumrah End of Innocence’ says it’s important to keep trying and widen one’s portfolio. She herself is keen on expanding digital and regional cinema, especially in Bengal.

Ritwika says, “Coming from a Bengali family in Singapore, I was exposed to classics in Bengali cinema and I also did Bengali theatre. Today, it’s amazing to see some of the work coming out of the Bengali film industry.”

Speaking about her favourite actors from Bengal, Ritwika says she is a huge fan of the late actress, Suchitra Sen and admires her body of work. She says, “I’ve watched almost all her Bengali movies and she is just phenomenal. People mostly love her for her role in ‘Aandhi’ but her work in ‘Devdas’, ‘Sagarika’ and ‘Deep Jwele Jaai’ are some of my favourites. I also love that we both have a mole on the chin.”

Sharing her struggle, Ritwika says that people in the industry rarely help unconditionally. She adds “I have realized that nobody is going to help you unless you help yourself. At times, you cannot depend on others to give you an opportunity. You have to sometimes push yourself and create your own opportunities”.

Ritwika’s short film “The Intruder” recently won 6 awards at international film festivals. She says that festivals like these encourage outsiders to pursue their passions. “I feel grateful for the recognition and would like to dedicate my awards to all the people who are struggling day and night to pursue their dreams. I would also like to dedicate my wins to people who go out of their way to help others in these difficult times. These include frontline warriors and all our Covid-19 Heroes”.

Ritwika has also done an international telefilm for The History Channel titled ‘Women Who Dared’ and dabbled as a host for many TV shows, including the one which she is hosting now for Zee Studios. She is also a popular influencer, known for her dance and beauty content. Ritwika confesses that social media has really helped her to connect with a lot more people.
“Today, it’s not just enough to be talented. You need to know how to market yourself as well. I treat my social media as an equally important platform to show my talent and build connections”, she signs off.