From Film School to Film Sets: Rasika Dugal, Kalki Koechlin, Vidhatri Bandi and More Actors Who Studied the Craft
- Swati Bhat
- Aug 25
- 2 min read
For some actors, the journey to the screen begins long before the first camera rolls. While talent and instinct remain central to acting, formal training can provide performers with the tools to understand characters, emotions, movement and the demands of a film set. Hindi cinema has several actresses who chose to invest in learning the craft before establishing themselves on screen.
Swati Bhat
Among them is Vidhatri Bandi, known for her work in Shiddat. Bandi graduated from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television in 2016 and went on to pursue a professional programme in acting for camera, along with a career development course. She also trained in improvisation through a one-month basic course at The Groundlings.
Kalki Koechlin developed an interest in theatre at an early age. She studied drama at Goldsmiths, University of London, while her school years at Hebron School in Ooty also saw her engage with acting and writing. Her theatre background eventually became an important part of her screen career.
Rasika Dugal, widely recognised for her performances in Mirzapur and several acclaimed films, trained at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, where she completed a postgraduate programme in acting. During her time at FTII, she was also taught by veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Then there is Tillotama Shome, whose performances are often defined by their emotional depth and layered characterisation. She completed a master's programme in Educational Theatre at New York University and also taught theatre to inmates at a high-security prison in the United States.
Athiya Shetty, meanwhile, pursued formal training at the New York Film Academy, studying acting as well as filmmaking and liberal arts. Her education added an academic dimension to a career that began with her Bollywood debut in Hero.
These journeys underline an important aspect of acting: the craft can be learned, refined and continually challenged. For these performers, film school and theatre education were not merely qualifications, but part of the process of discovering what it takes to inhabit a character convincingly.
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