Actress Rasika Dugal recently received the SAFA award at Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF) 2023 for her performance in black comedy thriller Lord Curzon Ki Haveli.
Acknowledging the efforts of CSAFF to promote South Asian culture, talent and perspectives through films, art and discussions, Rasika said, “It is because of festivals like these, that artists like me are encouraged. Thank you to CSAFF for their curation and for respecting and nurturing our work.”
Directed by Anshuman Jha, Lord Curzon Ki Haveli, which also features Arjun Mathur, made its North American premiere at CSAFF.
Reminiscing about how Chicago had been ‘kind to her’, Rasika said, “The last time I came to Chicago was 12 years ago for the Chicago International Film Festival with an independent film which we had shot over weekends or whenever we had money. It was the first time at that festival that my work was reviewed by critics. Fortunately, the reviews were glorious and just reading those words about my work was so encouraging.”
Rasika said that she felt ‘fortunate’ that she is still able to continue working on projects which bring her joy while also getting to work on mainstream content due to streaming platforms.
The upcoming projects of the actress include Amazon Prime Video series Mirzapur Season 3, sports drama series Spike and National Award-winning filmmaker Kaushal Oza’s film Little Thomas.
