Every day, several people walk into Bollywood in order to make a name for themselves. But how many succeed? Clearly, not many. With the Kapoors and Khans constantly overshadowing everything and everyone else, it is remarkable to see several outsiders carving a niche. Amongst the few, one name that stands out is that of Radhika Apte.

Radhika, a Pune-girl with an Economics and Mathematics degree, came to the city of dreams to pursue the big Bollywood dream of becoming an actress. But as fate would have it, things did not go down well. She tried and tried only to find failure. Radhika confessed that she had given up. But a new day dawned upon her with her boyfriend Benedict Taylor (now husband) fighting her battle anew.

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Radhika made her debut with Shahid Kapoor’s Life Ho Toh Aisi followed by a few art films and regional films, after which she was out of work and eventually out of the industry. She came back with a bang in Krishna D.K’s Shor in the city. Even though the film did not gain much popularity, Radhika was a name people wouldn’t forget. In the last three years itself, she has been an important part of commercially and critically acclaimed films like Badlapur, Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Parched, Phobia, Kabali and PadMan.

With her unapologetic attitude towards intimacy and nudity in films like Ahalya, Parched, Manjhi and Badlapur, Radhika went on to set a new standard for courage. It is this attitude that got her not one but three deals with the digital content streaming giant Netflix. After the hit anthology film Lust Stories, she starred in Netflix's Indian original shows Sacred Games and Ghoul. While people trolled the platform for having one actor as the face of all their shows, Netflix gave a crisp answer defending their leading lady by saying "Radhika Apt-Hai" out aloud! Now, that's a 'rad' and bold statement, indeed.

In fact, as labelled, Radhika's  ‘boldness’ isn’t limited to her on-screen roles but also her off-screen statements. We have listed few of the lot here. Check it out:

“I can’t have double standards. So I do what I believe in”

“The more you run away from one kind of label, the more people will try to put another label on you”

“I don’t want to be a top Bollywood actress. That’s not what is driving me!”

“Bollywood is a game and I realized there are a lot of ways of playing this game”

“I never worry about my image. I’m an actor and that’s what matters”

“You need to learn to say no and need to recognize when you are being exploited. You will get your due, according to your talent.”

 

“I have many physical complexities, we all do. And they are mostly given to us by Bollywood”

“People can’t digest the fact or imagine that a female actor can be a superstar”

“I am very open about my marital status because it doesn’t have anything to do with my work”

“Being bold is about living an independent life and exploring new things. Boldness is courage. It’s positive.”

We can never have enough of Radhika and her brilliant performances. So, let us gear up for her for next film Andhadhun with Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu releasing on October 5, this year.

Happy Birthday, Radhika!