Contrary to the popular perception that star kids have it easy in the film industry, newcomer Avantika Dassani, daughter of actor Bhagyashree and sister of actor Abhimanyu Dassani, said it has taken her a lot of hard work and training to bag her debut project ‘Mithya’.
Directed by Rohan Sippy, the psychological thriller-drama series which releases on Zee5 on February 25, will also have an ensemble of Huma Qureshi, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rajit Kapur, and Samir Soni.
Talking to News18.com, Dassani says, “I have been auditioning for a while so I have had my own share of challenges. There have been a few offers in both films and web series which came before Mithya, but nothing excited me as much as this one. Mithya is a two female-led project where my character is at loggerheads with Huma Qureshi’s character. The project is backed by Applause Entertainment and Goldie Behl and directed by Rohan Sippy, so I couldn’t have asked for a better debut.”
At a time when most newcomers would want to make their debut with a big-budget commercial film, Dassani chose a web series. Ask her if she fears being typecast as a web actor and she says, “Over the last few years, we have seen an incredible change in the landscape of Indian cinema. Off late, films from down South have become a rage. In the last two years, we saw how content on the web has been simply phenomenal which the audience is enjoying more than films. So, if anything, it allows me to be more versatile and allows me to show my range as an actor and take more risks. Whether it is OTT, films in any language, I want to challenge myself and learn in every possible way.”
Belonging to a film family, the young actor says that the only advice that she got from her mother and brother is to be confident and enjoy her work, “As I said, the industry has seen so many changes, and all three of us are different actors and all of us including my mother and learning something every day. So every time each of us has a new experience or learns something new, we end up having an interesting discussion. We all are learning from each other. The only advice mom has given me is to be a good person and stay grounded. My brother told me to work with people whose work I admire.”
Does she feel the pressure of taking the legacy forward, “I love, respect, and admire the work that both of them do. If anything, it has just pushed and driven me to do better. The pressure is not from them but it is more self-inflicted. I don’t want to be the black sheep (laughs). All of us are unique as an actor and I don’t have to walk in their shoes but I want to make them both proud.”
