Ritika Anand: Where Stories Breathe and Emotions Speak

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DE MODE | DE MODE OF LITERATURE JAN 2026 INDIA

Article Published on: 14TH FEB 2026 | www.demodemagazine.com

The writing of Being Selfish: A Dream Chaser’s Way Home was a solitary but gentle journey - slow, introspective, and almost effortless in its unfolding. The real challenge came later, when I began recording it in my own voice. Speaking the words demanded far more courage than writing them. It was only while recording that I truly realized what I had written. The sound engineers became my first audience, my first reviewers, giving me direct, honest feedback. As an actor, I’m used to instant gratification - that on-stage connect. I have always believed that film is a director’s medium, but stage is truly an actor’s medium. Having been used to that immediacy, the sound engineers’ reactions encouraged me to return each day and deliver with more confidence, even within my vulnerability.

Journey of Art, Awareness & Being

For Ritika Anand, art has never been a profession-it has always been play. She creates with the same unguarded curiosity a child brings to Lego blocks, piecing together colors, emotions, and ideas into living worlds. The moment she stopped treating creativity as work, she discovered a different kind of success-one rooted not in metrics, but in fulfillment, flow, and inner alignment. For Ritika, joy has always been the truest measure of achievement.

As far back as memory stretches, she was an actor. At five, she performed before mirrors; by twelve, she was already on stage, supported by a family that valued imagination over convention. By twenty-one, Ritika moved to Mumbai, stepping into the world of television and film. What began as acting soon led her, almost by destiny, into production, a role she initially resisted but eventually embraced for the freedom it offered: the ability to build worlds, not just inhabit them.

In cinema, Ritika’s journey unfolded across borders and genres. She produced and acted in Three Colors in a Canvas, a feature film exploring homelessness and addiction that saw a limited theatrical release in Canada. Her major commercial breakthrough followed with JL50, India’s first rooted science-fiction drama on time travel, where she performed alongside Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur, and Piyush Mishra, while also serving as producer and lead female actor-a rare dual role that defined her creative courage.

The stage, however, remained a deeply personal space. Her acclaimed production Palki – The Play was honored with the Legislative Assembly Award in Canada and sparked the I Am This inward expansion is also reflected in her debut book, Being Selfish: A Dream Chaser’s Way Home, where storytelling meets self-realization. Today, with the digital era offering unprecedented creative freedom, Ritika finds joy in bringing all her expressions-acting, producing, writing, and soulful conversations-under one expansive roof. Through The Pathbreaker, the We Women Foundation, and upcoming film projects, she continues to weave art and awareness into a single, evolving journey.

Palki movement, a campaign for feminine and human empowerment. The movement later evolved into a feature film starring Ritika alongside Piyush Mishra, Vibha Chibber, and Rajesh Sharma. Though the film did not find its moment then, the rise of digital platforms has given it renewed meaning through her latest project, The Pathbreaker.

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Glimpse from her book launch event

Book by Author Ritika Anand

BEING SELFISH BY AUTHOR RITIKA ANAND

Being Selfish: A Dream Chaser’s Way Home is not merely a story-it is a deeply personal chronicle of transformation. It captures the early stages of Ritika Anand’s spiritual awakening, when the search for divinity slowly shifted from the outer world to the inner source. What began as devotion rooted in form, surrender, and idol worship gradually ripened into understanding, revealing a quieter, deeper truth.

For years, she walked the path of Bhakti, immersed in love as worship. With time and grace, that devotion evolved into Gyan-love as awareness. The bridge between the two became her way home. Through self-reflection and the many shades of love she encountered, she began to see that every relationship, every joy and heartbreak, was part of the same divine play. Love was no longer merely an experience; it became the teacher itself.

The book reflects both the before and after of her initiation into Neo-Sannyas-a turning point where the boundaries between seeker and sought began to dissolve. It carries the miraculous and magical experiences lived in the grace of her Guru, Bhagwan Osho, whose presence illuminated her journey from chasing dreams to awakening within them.

At its heart, this is a story of reclaiming the self. Ritika discovers that being selfish is not a flaw, but a strength-one that leads to true selflessness. For only by honoring one’s own spirit can one dissolve into the greater whole. To be selfish, in its truest sense, is to come home-to the divine within, where love, awareness, and creation become one.

UPCOMING VENTURES

Currently, Ritika Anand is immersed in the creation of Pathbreaker – Let’s Follow Wonder, a digital travel and way-of-life series that reimagines ancient Indian narratives through contemporary experiences. The project journeys through landscapes, traditions, and philosophies, presenting timeless wisdom in a form that resonates with today’s seeker. Each episode emerges from a blend of thoughtful research, lived observation, and intuitive storytelling, making the process both intellectually rich and creatively liberating.

Working on Pathbreaker has marked a meaningful evolution in her artistic practice. Moving beyond traditional prose, she is exploring the expressive rhythm of scriptwriting—where emotion is conveyed not only through words, but also through pauses, movement, and visual mood. This transition has widened her creative lens, encouraging a deeper engagement with storytelling as a sensory and cinematic experience. The series has become an exploratory space where the writer, traveller, and performer intersect, allowing ideas to unfold organically rather than remain confined to the page.

This phase has also sparked a renewed connection with poetry. Along each journey, verses take shape—reflective pieces that echo the inner terrain stirred by travel, memory, and discovery. Together, scripts, poems, and narratives form a unified creative flow, one guided by curiosity and a persistent sense of wonder. Alongside this, Ritika Anand and her team are actively developing three film projects—one envisioned as a long-term cinematic undertaking, and two contemporary stories that have been evolving over several years, including a science-fiction drama. While specific details

remain confidential due to ongoing collaborations, these works continue her pursuit of conscious, original storytelling within both independent and collective creative spaces.

Her current primary focus remains Pathbreaker – Let’s Follow Wonder, produced by the We Women Foundation, which revisits India’s ancient stories through a modern lens. In parallel, she is designing a

board-and-card game centred on life itself, an interactive reflection on choices, growth, and perspective. Looking ahead, she also plans to write- The Timeline Jumper, a children’s fiction novel crafted for readers of all ages, inviting adults to reconnect with imagination, innocence, and the healing presence of the inner child.

Beyond being an author, Ritika has been deeply involved in several meaningful pursuits, each contributing to the richness of her perspective and the authenticity of her expression.

JL50

Produced by Vision 20 of Canada and Golden Ratio Films of Singapore, with Ritika Anand as an individual producer.

Currently streaming on SonyLIV, JL50 is India’s first rooted science-fiction drama on time travel, featuring Abhay Deol, Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra, and Ritika Anand in the lead female role.

A CBI investigation into a recent plane crash takes a drastic turn when they discover the flight, JL 50, actually disappeared 35 years ago.

Palki

Produced by Kapoor Films (Canada) and Vision 10 Productions.

Palki movie depicts a Punjabi farmer named Balbir Singh, and his only daughter Palki, she is in the lead role of this film, Palki's life difficulties help her father Balbir Singh learn about women empowerment. An educational film on girl-child empowerment starring Ritika Anand, Piyush Mishra, Vibha Chibber, and Rajesh Sharma.

Currently preparing for a digital release as part of The Pathbreaker digital series and the I Am Palki campaign.

She has been internationally recognised in Canada for her impactful contributions to arts and culture. She received the Legislative Assembly Award for her volunteer work through the arts, empowering communities and fostering social and cultural awareness across diverse, multicultural spaces. In recognition of her continued influence, she was also nominated for the Immigrant of Distinction Award for outstanding contributions to arts and culture. Most recently, she was honoured with the Immigrant of Impact Award 2025 in the Arts and Sports category, celebrating her role in promoting inclusivity, empowerment, and creative expression through her work.

INTERVIEW OF AUTHOR RITIKA ANAND WITH DE MODE

Q: Your journey beautifully intertwines film, writing, and philosophy. How do you define yourself today as a storyteller?

To define is to end the continuum of self-expression, which is the very essence of creativity. I believe true creativity transcends form-it’s pure energy in motion, ever-evolving and alive. To define is to fix, to still what must flow. Yet if I must define myself, I am simply that-a storyteller.

Q: What inspired you to create JL50, India’s first serious sci-fi exploration rooted in Indian culture and mythology?

Science fiction has always been my favorite genre. It expands both imagination and consciousness. Yet, I rarely found an Indian narrative that satisfied that depth. JL50 was born from a passionate longing to see such a story in India, especially knowing that quantum physics is deeply rooted in our ancient mythologies. To me, it was about bringing it back home.

Q: As both producer and lead actor in JL50, what were the biggest creative and emotional challenges you faced?

At this stage, I cannot separate being an actor from being a producer. I learned production on my own and see my role as creating a safe, nurturing space where artists feel secure that the film will see the light of day. During JL50, I navigated a divorce and a legal battle for the film itself, which on the plus side enriched my emotionally torn character.

Q: How do you balance the fine line between imagination and authenticity when crafting such layered narratives?

Authenticity is what we are, but creativity allows us to expand that truth. Through imagination, something personal transforms into something purposeful and inclusive. In creative storytelling, originality becomes the purest expression of authenticity. To me, it is not just about narrating our own stories, but using creative liberty to shape them into something that resonates universally.

Q: In your book Being Selfish: A Dream Chaser’s Way Home, you redefine selfishness as strength-what sparked this idea?

It was empathy. I realised that what seems morally right can sometimes feel like a burden and hold us back from our highest experience of life. To me, being selfish means knowing the self first, and then realising it is beyond its attachments. It was the only path that kept evolving me toward true compassion and selflessness, and I wanted to share it with whoever would receive it.

Q: What does “being selfish” truly mean to you in the context of personal growth and self-realization?

For me, growth has always been internal. The external is achievement, not growth. Being Selfish reflects this inner evolution. All expression may pass through the mind, but it is born in the heart and soul. On the surface, it marks my ability to move through words, yet deeply, it signifies a realization that helped me move forward, lighter and freer.

Q: You often merge artistry with spirituality-how has your spiritual journey shaped your creative choices?

Before I stepped into spirituality, creativity for me was worship. Work was worship. That was when there were

Q: How do you view the current landscape of Indian storytelling, especially for women creators breaking new ground?

creative choices. But once spirituality began leading my self-expression, the choices dissolved. When creativity rooted itself in spirit, it started leading the way. Like with science fiction, if I wished to experience it creatively, I had to create it.

Q: How do you stay grounded while exploring such expansive, philosophical themes in your work?

Grounding, for me, is understanding the clear distinction between what I do and what I am. It is being so deeply rooted in nothingness that the branches can reach the sky. When one stays connected to that space of nothing, expansion becomes effortless. For me, knowing what I am not is the first step to realizing what I am.

Q: As a TEDx speaker, what message do you most hope to leave with your audience?

Whether as a TEDx speaker or through my creative work, I seek to engage the young mind. However profound the idea, I express it simply, so it can be felt. I want the youth to forget that any box ever existed, to free that suppressed creative life-force within, because liberated imagination is what shapes the future.

I create, but I rarely consume content. My inspiration comes from life, nature, and source energy. So this is a difficult one for me to answer. Yet, I have always believed that the more women enter any field, the more balanced it becomes. I deeply support women creators expressing themselves freely and breaking new ground in their own way.

Q: What draws you toward projects that blend genres-social commentary, science fiction, and metaphysics?

The layered nature of being naturally draws me to blended genres. My journey becomes richer when I can bring multiple talents into one space of expression. Whether it is writing, acting, producing, or speaking, uniting them under one creative roof focuses my scattered energy. It allows me to express more fully and satisfy the wholeness of my creative self.

Q: How do you see the role of cinema evolving in awakening consciousness and driving change?

I see it as a real possibility. When conscious creators express through expanded imagination yet create with awareness, originality emerges naturally. Spirituality makes one true to oneself and to expression, and that authenticity awakens others. In this way, cinema can evolve into a mirror that uplifts the collective mind, rather than imitates it at its current frequency.

Q: Can you share any glimpses into your upcoming creative projects or new directions you’re exploring?

I don’t follow directions, I follow wonder. Haha. My most exciting project is The Pathbreaker - now also a show-space for my film Palki and the campaign I Am Palki. It’s not just about empowering the girl child or women anymore, but about the rising of creative life-force energy in all through storytelling - where all my creative energy is channeled under one roof and wholly satisfied.

Q: What advice would you give to dreamers who wish to follow their passion fearlessly, as you did?

Only desire can create passion. If your dream is hopeful, fuel the fire until you fulfill the desire. If it feels hopeless, turn that passion into inspiration and create from there. Either way, a realized dream is where you’ll land. Fear and dreams cannot coexist, for both are illusions. To ground a dream, one must be fearless.

Q: Last time you were featured inside DE MODE, and this time you grace its cover-how does it feel, and how has your experience been working with De Mode?

It reminded me of my second mom, Anjali Anand, who used to tell me as a little girl that when I come on a magazine cover, I must remember her name, because she knew I would. I feel grateful to have made her dream a reality, and to DE MODE, through this partnership, we put a smile on her face together.