Early on in her career, actor Rasika Dugal says she was asked to audition for “bubbly” characters in the same vein as Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Geet from the superhit romantic-comedy ‘Jab We Met’.

The ‘Delhi Crime’ star, who graduated from Film and Television Institute of India, said she loved Kareena’s performance in the 2007 film but she couldn’t bring herself to fit into that mould.

“When I started acting professionally, after I finished from the film institute for the longest time, the brief was, ‘We want you to be bubbly, like Kareena from ‘Jab We Met’. It was always like that.

“So, for 30 auditions it was like Kareena from ‘Jab We Met’. Though I loved her performance and the film, I couldn’t do it,” Dugal said in Mumbai on Friday, according to a PTI report.

She was speaking at a panel discussion on the topic ‘The role of media and entertainment in empowering women’. The conversation was part of a special segment ‘Her Story, Her Voice’, organised by Netflix and the National Commission of Women (NCW).

The actor, also known for her work in ‘Mirzapur’ and ‘Manto’, said she finds joy in breaking the stereotype around women characters.

Citing the example of her widely acclaimed Netflix series ‘Delhi Crime’, in which she plays the role of a cop named Neeti Singh, Dugal said her aim was to bring out a true side of a police officer on screen.

“It was an interesting experience working on the show. I don’t know anyone in the police world, so I knew I had to work towards it. I wanted to understand police protocol, like on which side you will sit in a police car, how you fix the cap. You will not know these little things if you don’t shadow someone.

“So, I shadowed a probation officer for a few days. I called her before we started shooting season two and told her, ‘I want to be a shadow on the wall and watch you’. It is intense to be a police officer. I have total admiration for what they do,” the 38-year-old actor added.

On the panel, Dugal was joined by YouTuber-actor Prajakta Koli, ‘Darlings’ director Jasmeet K Reen, and writer Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul of  ‘Thappad’ fame.

Ahead of the International Women’s Day, Netflix, in collaboration with India’s National Commission for Women, hosted special discussions on the role of media and entertainment in empowering women.

The two-panel discussions brought together some of the most prominent figures from the industry, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), female actors and directors, who shared their perspectives on the role of storytelling in shaping the narrative of women’s empowerment.

A panel discussion on the role of media and entertainment in women’s empowerment kicked off the day-long event on Friday. Huma Qureshi, celebrated actor, and producer, Himanshu Rai, Director IIM Indore, Veerendra Mishra, IPS AIG MP Police, Nayana Sahasrabuddhe, President, Bhartiya Stree Shakti, Priyanka Kher, Breakthrough India, and Uday Singh, Head Motion Pictures Association were among the panelists.

The second-panel discussion, titled ‘Her Story, Her Voice: A Conversation with Women in Media & Entertainment,’ shed light on the importance of championing female representation in the entertainment industry.

Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India, was on the panel to represent the streaming service. Sucharita Tyagi, a film critic, moderated the discussion.