Thrilled to reunite with Nawazuddin Siddiqui on Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai, Radhika Apte discusses bagging Honey Trehan's directorial debut
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 31, 2020)

Radhika Apte is only too happy to spend the lockdown with musician husband Benedict Taylor in London and has "no clue" when she will hop on a flight to Mumbai. However, she is not missing from action. The original poster girl of homegrown content on Netflix returns to the streaming giant with Raat Akeli Hai, which drops online today. "I am thrilled to be back on it," laughs the actor, who had three back-to-back releases — Sacred Games, Lust Stories and Ghoul — on the OTT platform in 2018.

The noir thriller marks the directorial debut of casting director Honey Trehan. "I have auditioned for him for various projects, and he has rejected me quite a few times. Honey will not select you till he is convinced that you are perfect for the role. When he turned to direction, he thought of me. I said yes instantly, without reading the entire script," says Radhika Apte. It was serendipitous that Trehan decided to explore a whodunit — her favourite genre — in his first feature film. "On the set, Honey surprised me with the homework he had done for every character. He knew the reaction he wanted from each actor."

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the small-town cop investigating the murder of the family's patriarch, is the perfect foil to Apte's "mysterious" Radha in the suspense drama. Raving about her co-star, she says, "Acting with him is fulfilling. We keep improvising and changing our performances accordingly."