Long gap from TV made Riddhi Dogra question her own talent

Popular TV star Riddhi Dogra says her long hiatus from daily soaps was "frustrating" and made her question if she is meant to be an actress in the first place.
Riddhi has been part of hit shows like "Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak" and "Savitri", which aired in 2013. Post that, she appeared in reality shows and featured in the 2015 drama "Diya Aur Baati Hum."
The actress says the period of not getting a good role made her question everything about herself.
"It was very frustrating. I really started to question myself, whether I should be an actor, am I fit to be an actor, whether I am doing something wrong? I used to ask my friends whether I was doing something wrong. I am ready to learn," Riddhi told PTI.

"I did theatres and ads in between. It's all timing, whether you are prepared or not. In these last few years, I may not have worked on TV but I worked on myself. I have comeback as a very different person now," she added.
The actress will now be seen in Zee TV's upcoming show, "Woh Apna Sa".

Riddhi says she took time to bag the perfect role as there are not enough strong characters written for women in TV.
When asked if she feels it is tough to get strong roles, the 32-year-old actress said, "Clearly, it is very difficult. It took me so much time to get a role like this. Good roles are not written for women, honestly.

"Even if they are, you can't fit in everything. Everytime I went for a meeting, my parents used to ask 'did some show happen'. I used to tell them, eventually I'll do only one show, there will be only that one character written for me. I was searching for that role and I finally found it"
The actress, however, is now happy and feels her journey of ups and downs will only help her to better her craft.
"I think that journey was very important for me. It was frustrating but I think if you are truly an actor, you will carry that frustration and move ahead otherwise you'll leave it and do something else."

"Woh Apna Sa" is scheduled to air on January 23.