Rocket Boys 2 actress Regina Cassandra on pay and role disparities in the Indian film industry, 'From the time I have started my career, I have seen extremes'

Regina Cassandra will once again be seen as Mrinalini Sarabhai in Rocket Boys 2. The web series also stars Jim Sarbh, Ishwak Singh and will begin streaming on March 16 on March 16. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actress for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:

Do you feel as an actor that your pressures are double with Rocket Boys 2?

I am happy that our director Abhay (Pannu) shot most of it along with season 1 except for a few scenes. After season one was released and with the whole response, they can go back to add or subtract anything or maybe tweak it. The pressure isn’t much anymore rather there is an understanding of what audiences want and what the show looks like. In my perspective, Abhay got lucky.

How are you coping up with excessive promotions?

The promotions for season 1 were so different and it’s been such a long time. I was detached with it to start all over again, I am thoroughly enjoying promoting the second season.

Do you believe that the Rocket Boys franchise has changed the trajectory for you in the OTT space?

Well, I entered the OTT space with Rocket Boys and I am so happy to have a show like this as my debut in the Hindi OTT space. In 2022, all my OTT came out in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. People might see the trajectory from the outer space but I have been doing this for a long time. For me, I should like to do what I am doing. With three Hindi OTT shows in a row — Rocket Boys, Shoorveer and Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke, I certainly need a pat on my back.

What are your thoughts on the female characters being written by the writers now in the OTT arena?

I am really happy to see this new change and why not also since I am getting way more opportunities. It is interesting that it happened. There’s so much content today so how many male leads can a show have? I feel producers are giving roles to females to explore OTT but otherwise where do you see this in films? It has started though but it’s a slow process.

You work in multiple film industries. Besides male dominance, what are your thoughts on pay disparities?

I agree. You see gender disparity mildly everywhere. From the time I have started, I have seen extremes. It is actually in every industry, just that we belong to an industry which is more talked about. 

Since you are working from a young age, is there a role or a genre you still want to pursue?

Honestly, I want to do it all. I started working in films when I was 14 but my career started in 2011. I have played a lot of roles in my short career. Right now, I am just working on my Hindi accent and diction though so that my roles can be varied.