“I didn’t fit in anywhere. So they made a slot for me in the Tamil industry—innocent roles”

In the film industry, people make presumptions and various assumptions about an actor and the kind of characters they can portray. Radikaa started off playing innocent roles, but over the years she started portraying powerful characters. Question her on the change and she says, “They had slots for each actor—Sridevi portrayed glamorous roles most of the time, while Sripriya would play strong and bold character and Sujata used to play all women-centric roles. I didn’t fit in anywhere. So they made a slot for me in the Tamil industry—innocent village girl roles. But, I wanted to do all kinds of roles. That is when Telugu offers came my way and I started doing very serious and bold roles there. That is when people from the Tamil film fraternity realised that I could actually act. They started casting me in complex and women-centric roles. I started molding myself to suit each character, and took on all the projects that came my way.”

“I started Radaan to be close to my daughter. I wanted to be in control of my career”

After many years in the film industry, Radikaa started her own company, Radaan, producing programs for television. “The moment I had my daughter, I knew I wouldn’t be cast as the lead. I would be doing stereotypical roles such as a sister or a mother. I didn’t want that for myself. I couldn’t imagine myself playing such characters at that point in time. That is when Radaan happened. I started this production house to be close to my daughter. I wanted to be in control of my career.” But as a woman and as a budding entrepreneur, she braved many challenges. “Everyone I knew was against it. But since I am a headstrong woman, I started it anyway. I faced a lot of criticism from known and unknown, but still, I fought my way to the top. As an actor, I was loved and respected by everybody; but, as a businesswoman, they just brushed me off. It was not easy to convince people. I used to sit at their offices for hours together and explain everything in detail, only to get rejected. Most of them felt that women actors make bad business decisions. It was a very difficult phase for me. But now, I am glad that the whole concept has changed and I took that first step. Nobody was willing to help me at that point in time. I was dejected and depressed. That is when I realized that I had to help myself. When I fall down, I have to get up on my own; nobody will pull me up. That is how a person becomes strong. That is how I became strong.”