Over the last few years, Sobhita Dhulipala has been responsible for some credible work across mediums. Making her movie debut with Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 a few years ago, she starred in the Ghost Stories segment directed by him earlier this year. The Netflix series Bard of Blood saw her play a tough agent but it was Made in Heaven, on Amazon Prime Video, that truly placed her in the spotlight.

And yet the 26-year-old stunner is much more than just her time on screen. One look at her social media timeline unveils a personality who loves to read, writes poems and most importantly, isn’t willing to conform. The Telegraph caught up with Sobhita — who starred in last year’s much-feted bilingual film Moothon — for a chat.

What are you up to in these days of the lockdown?

To be honest, I don’t look at this period as a void to fill things in. It is actually an opportunity to understand our place in the grander scheme of things. I see this as a chance to reflect on things beyond our aspirations, plans, goals, promises… a chance to understand who we are beyond our attachments. To while this time away by busying our mind with an overdose of entertainment is a loss, I feel.

This is a break that no one really asked for...

Absolutely! It is almost like an opportunity designed by nature, asking us to stop in our hurried stride and take a breather. This is our chance to question who we are and what are the things that truly move us, to question our choices…. This period has allowed me to recognise the beauty of ordinariness.

During the lockdown, you came up with a self-shot cover for a fashion magazine. What was that experience like? It was very aesthetically done…

Thank you for your encouraging words. There is a kind of pleasure in impulsiveness. I liked the idea of representing parts of who I am in my daily routine through my own means. It is empowering and quite frankly, fun.

I know that you are a voracious reader. How is your reading going at this time and are there any titles that you would want to recommend to our readers?

Reading has always been and will continue to be an integral part of my life. I’ve been reading some unique, lovely books in this time. A couple of classic books that have inspired me and I wish for others to read are The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh and Exit West by Mohsin Hamid.

Have you watched anything in the last few weeks that you really liked?

Oh yes, quite a bit of watching has happened! I loved watching The Crown. And I am discovering anime in this period. It’s astonishing!

In a relatively short time, you’ve churned out commendable turns cutting across mediums. How do you look back at the journey so far and the choices that you have made?

I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had along the way, the choices, the people, the good, bad, ugly…. I’ve had the privilege of leading a life rich with peaks and troughs.

You’ve made a mark as an actor who doesn’t fall prey to the formulaic and is seen to not conform to stereotypes. Has that been a tough path to walk on in a business that still expects people, especially women actors, to conform?

Has it been tough? Yes. If I had a chance to go back in time and start over, would I be just as recklessly bold? Yes.

Being an actor means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Maybe a blueprint of the passing of time. A love letter to life immortalised in film.

You have always spoken about the need to belong, much like Tara, the character you played in Made in Heaven. Do you still feel like an ‘outsider’?

I may have made peace with a lot of things I think… I’ve had the chance to introspect in this lockdown period and it seems to me that I’m a lot less bothered with being an insider or outsider now… for as long as I am in transit.

As an actor, do you have a blueprint in mind where you want to be in the next five years or does that journey have to be organic for you?

We have so little control over what happens. We do have plans and goals and all those intricate designs in mind for how we see our life. Somehow, very little of that remains when it comes to reality. It feels natural to me to be open to whatever may come my way, fluidity is essential. I’m not very attached to the past or future. I’m here, in the now, with a coffee in one hand and a grin on my face… ready.