Curtain Calls: Rytasha Rathore

“I really want to play a sexy seductress, femme fatale kind of character. Or Queen Margaret in the Henry plays by Shakespeare…that’d be fun,” says 23-year-old Rytasha Rathore, when asked about her dream role. “I auditioned for Alice in Wonderland, our annual school play, in the ninth standard. I fell down the rabbit hole then and haven’t looked back since. If not an actor, I’d be some sort of manager because I love telling people what to do.” The young actor, host, voice-over artist and English teacher says that her first experience on stage was “nothing but exhilarating.”

The Lasalle College of the Arts alumnus says that the production process of Rajat Kapoor’s I Don’t Like It. As You Like It involved “a whole of lot of sweat and tears…but was totally worth it in the end”. Rytasha shares that her decision to go to drama school for three years was the best one she has ever taken. Most people believe that theatre is just a hobby, but she insists, “It’s a career, and a great one too!” An advantage “is being able to access various aspects of oneself on a regular basis, and being so in tune with your body and emotions that it forces you to confront your demons and grow.”

The Mumbai girl does not want to travel to the same place twice, for she believes that “there’s too much to see.” A stage favourite is Complicite’s Shun-kin. “It is the finest piece of theatre I’ve ever watched in my life.” The actor eagerly awaits many more performances of her plays 07/07/07, I Don’t Like It. As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice and The Hound of the Baskervilles, and says that the future holds endless possibilities.