Quick Read / Key Highlights:

  • Sandeepa Dhar says her goal has always been to be recognised as a versatile actor, not confined to the "heroine" tag.
  • She has deliberately picked roles across comedy, thriller, drama and emotional genres to prove her range.
  • Credits OTT platforms for giving performers more freedom to experiment than mainstream cinema traditionally allowed.
  • Currently seen in Netflix's ensemble comedy-drama "Chumbak," alongside Neena Gupta, Sumeet Vyas, Helly Shah and others.
  • "Chumbak," created by JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia, premiered on September 10 and is set in Mumbai's Chembur.

Sandeepa Dhar Says She's Chasing Craft, Not the "Heroine" Tag

For an actress who has moved between big-screen mainstream cinema and the fast-expanding OTT ecosystem, Sandeepa Dhar's priorities have stayed remarkably consistent: she wants to be known for her craft, not her category. In a candid conversation with IANS, the "Dabangg 2" actress made it clear that titles like "heroine" hold little weight for her compared to the work itself.

Versatility Over Validation

Dhar explained that she has intentionally gravitated toward roles spanning comedy, thriller, drama and emotionally charged narratives — not to chase a specific image, but to demonstrate range. Her comment, "I want to become an actor. Whether I become a heroine or not, that's a different matter," reflects a broader shift among mid-career actresses in Hindi cinema who are increasingly prioritising performance diversity over conventional stardom metrics.

This mindset mirrors a larger industry conversation: as content becomes more fragmented across theatrical releases, streaming originals and short-format platforms, actors who can move fluidly between tones and genres are finding themselves with longer, more sustainable careers than those boxed into a single "type."

Why OTT Has Been a Turning Point

Dhar was particularly vocal about how digital platforms have reshaped opportunities for performers like her. She noted that OTT has allowed actors "the opportunity to show their variations," a sentiment that echoes what many actors from the pre-streaming era have described as a structural gap in mainstream Bollywood casting, where lead actresses were often typecast early in their careers. The rise of anthology series, ensemble dramas and character-driven web originals has effectively created a parallel ecosystem where range is rewarded rather than restricted.

Her gratitude toward audience reception — "the audience has also been very kind to me" — also signals how digital viewership has become a validating metric independent of box-office performance, giving actors like her direct visibility into how their work lands.

Her Latest Outing: "Chumbak"

Dhar's most recent project is Netflix's comedy-drama series "Chumbak," created by the well-known writer-director duo JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia. The show, which premiered on September 10, features a stacked ensemble cast including Neena Gupta, Deven Bhojani, Arjun Bijlani, Helly Shah, Manasi Parekh, Sumeet Vyas, Sumeet Raghavan, Anant V. Joshi, Amyra Dastur, Delnaaz Irani and Atul Kumar.

Set in the fictional Chumbak Colony in Chembur, Mumbai, the series follows the overlapping lives, domestic conflicts and neighbourhood gossip of five families sharing a housing complex — a premise rooted in slice-of-life, community-driven storytelling that has become a signature of Majethia and Kapadia's work in Indian television and streaming.

The Bigger Picture

Dhar's remarks arrive at a moment when Indian OTT content is increasingly leaning on ensemble, community-based narratives rather than single-hero-driven plots — a format that inherently demands actors capable of holding their own within a crowded cast. For Dhar, "Chumbak" adds another data point to a filmography built on deliberate variety, reinforcing her stated ambition: recognition as a complete actor, not a label.