Radhika Apte turns 35: A look at her performances in films like Raat Akeli Hai, shows like Sacred Games

Radhika Apte, who turns 35 today, has been in the Indian film industry for over a decade now. She made her debut in films with a role in 2003’s Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! Since then, she has been a part of Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and English-language films. She will next be seen in World War 2 espionage thriller  A Call to Spy , where she will portray Noor Inayat Khan, a wireless officer of Indian descent and a pacifist. The film had its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June last year. Here is a look at some of her memorable onscreen performances. _**Raat Akeli Hai**_ (2020) [caption id=“attachment_8792121” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image from @NetflixIndia[/caption] In Honey Trehan’s directorial debut, which premiered recently on Netflix, Apte played Radha. Her character is a young woman whose husband is murdered on their wedding night, which eventually leads to an investigation led by Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Inspector Jatil Yadav. _**Parched**_ (2015) [caption id=“attachment_8792141” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Poster of Parched | Image from Twitter[/caption] Written and directed by Leena Yadav, Parched had received a great reception in the international film festival circuit. Apte played Lajjo, a childless woman, who stays in a Rajasthan village and has to put up with a violent and drunk husband every day. She strives for emancipation along with her friends Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee) and Bijli (Surveen Chawla). _**Sacred Games**_ (2018) [caption id=“attachment_8792151” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image from Twitter @filmfare[/caption] Apte portrayed a daring and clever intelligence officer Anjali Mathur who helps Sartaj (Saif Ali Khan) crack open the mystery that makes up the plot of Sacred Games season 1. As she is repeatedly told to not work on the field because of her gender, Apte’s character perfectly conveyed the frustration women felt by women working in male dominated industries. Ghoul  (2018) [caption id=“attachment_8792171” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image from Twitter @filmfare[/caption] This miniseries had Apte leading the cast with ease. Patrick Graham’s three-episode horror thriller gave Apte immense scope to display her acting chops. She played a young woman who is brainwashed into getting her own father imprisoned. What follows is a sinister tale of horror and realisation. Phobia (2016) [caption id=“attachment_8792191” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image from @ErosNow[/caption] One of Apte’s best performances , however, came with the psychological thriller of 2016, Phobia. Directed by Pavan Kirpalani, the movie starred Apte as Mahek, a young woman who develops a severe case of agoraphobia (a fear of certain spaces and situations) after a taxi driver assaults her. She shifts to another apartment in hopes of finding solace but instead starts believing that the apartment is haunted. _**Lust Stories**_ (2018) [caption id=“attachment_8750691” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Apte in a still from Lust Stories[/caption] Apte played a professor named Kakoli in the short directed by Anurag Kashyap. This part was directed by Anurag Kashyap and her performance won her a nomination for an International Emmy Award for best actress in 2019.