Actor Barkha Singh has had a busy phase professionally as she had two web series released in the last few months– Criminal Justice: A Family Matter with Pankaj Tripathi and Lafangey. Reflecting on it, she says, “It’s a very good feeling, especially at a time when industry overall is kind of facing a lull. Although, it would have been good too if they were spread out as it’s good for an actor that we stay relevant across a longer time.”
The 33-year-old played a lawyer working with actor Pankaj Tripathi’s character in Criminal Justice, and she admits it was intimidating joining a franchise midway. “There was a fear if people would accept me, but more than that, it was also a change of category for me as until now, the audience has seen me in a lot of sweet girl-next-door roles, but here it was a no makeup, no glam serious role of a lawyer, so it was a double gamble for me,” she says.
Barkha asserts that she is often confined to ‘glamorous’ and ‘girl-next-door’ roles, inhibiting her growth. “So many times, I have called casting directors asking to audition for certain projects, and they tell me no because it isn’t a glam role or is a middle-class role. Casting to door ki baat hai, sometimes it gets difficult for me to even land auditions. Thankfully, I got a good response for Criminal Justice where the same casting people have called me and said that ‘Wow tum tu tum lag hi nahi rahi ho’,” she gushes.
OTT as a platform is seen as an explorative medium, but for Barkha, it has pigeonholed her too. Mention that to her and she agrees, saying, “I have been lucky to get on the OTT space when it was starting, but it does give you anxiety when you don’t get to explore. There’s so many factors that go into deciding whether you’re going to do a project or not, no matter how good your audition went or how well you fit the part.”
Recalling one such incident, she shares, “I was selected for a role, my fittings were done, but then at the last minute, I was replaced by someone who was just very topical because of their media and PR spottings. They got into some controversy and they replaced me only because the platforms felt that that person would get them more eyeballs. Such things give you anxiety. As actors, we only have our skill to fall back on, but in today’s time, you have to play the game. I can’t play the controversy game, but those who do that, they get so many offers.”
