The concept of having intimacy coordinators or coaches on film sets has gained considerable attention in Bollywood over the years. Several actors have opened up about how their presence helps create a safer and more comfortable environment while filming bold or intimate scenes.
Mirzapur actress Rasika Dugal is also a strong advocate of the practice, sharing how having an intimacy coordinator helped her feel more at ease while shooting some of the bold scenes.
Speaking to ANI, Rasika shared, “For intimacy scenes in particular, nowadays we have intimacy coordinators, which is a very important thing, so that nobody is kind of violated in any way and everyone’s concerns are properly taken care of. It’s like you have a choreographer for a dance sequence.
If you like, you have a fight master for an action sequence; you know, similarly, you have an intimacy coordinator for an intimacy sequence. So where we’ve sort of workshopped those scenes before to understand what is comfortable or not comfortable for someone, for an actor, for your co-actor, for yourself, we try and understand how we can achieve what the director wants after they’ve sort of discussed it with us.”
Rasika revealed that workshops are also conducted to address actors’ concerns and any discomfort they may have, helping them feel more comfortable and secure while filming intimate scenes.
“And if somebody is uncomfortable with something, we try and find another way to sort of have that same effect, but without making anybody feel uncomfortable. So all of that is very beautifully coordinated these days. And I think it’s a very nice thing to have intimacy coordinators. It makes everybody feel very comfortable,” she said.
“You know exactly what is going to happen on set. You know, you can ask for a closed set. And earlier, before there were intimacy coordinators, it would kind of be somebody’s responsibility to do it, but nobody would know who exactly. But now, because of these coordinators, we know that there’s one person taking care of this. One person is calling for a closed set, which means that they’ve decided who all are required here for a shot and who’s not. And those people, the people who aren’t, are not there. So it’s all very professional and properly coordinated,” Rasika explained.
Rasika shared that when they shot the first season, there were no intimacy coordinators. The concept was more commonly followed in the West at the time and wasn’t yet as established in India. However, she highlighted that the film’s unit was very sensitive and considerate, making sure that her concerns were heard and properly addressed.
“When we were doing Mirzapur season one, we didn’t have intimacy coordinators as a concept at that time. Here, I think in the West, they’ve had it for a while, but it hadn’t come here till then. But we were fortunate to have a unit which was very, very sensitive, with very sensitive directors, who made sure of who took on the role of an intimacy coordinator, you know, at that time. So I knew exactly what shots I was doing, exactly how they would be filmed. The director had discussed it with me in a space earlier where I had a space to sort of say no, if I was not okay with something. So those things were beautifully taken care of, but I cannot emphasise the importance of intimacy coordinators more than I already have. It’s very important,” Rasika emphasised.
From the world of web series, Mirzapur has now made its way to the big screen with Mirzapur: The Movie. Rasika Dugal is part of the highly anticipated film, which features an ensemble cast of several other popular stars.
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