It has been an enduring romance with acting. Even as she went missing from Hindi cinema after Tell Me O Kkhuda (2011), Esha Deol Takhtani was seen in short films like Cakewalk (2019) and Ek Duaa (2021), following them up with her maiden web series Rudra: The Edge of Darkness (2022). Now, the actor is returning to feature films with director Sachin Saraf’s Main. The drama, also starring Amit Sadh, sees Deol as an encounter specialist’s spouse who transforms from a home-maker to an independent woman taking charge of her life.

What attracted Deol to the project was that it studied the emotional toll that an encounter specialist’s job takes on his family. “The film conveys a strong yet simple message that a woman can achieve the unimaginable, and depicts how she discovers her potential and excels in life. Due to certain circumstances arising in her life, my character gets an opportunity to know herself better and becomes more self-aware,” she says.

The unit wrapped up the first schedule in Bhopal last week. Sharing screen space with Sadh has been a joy for the actor, who is all praise for him. “Amit is a fantastic actor. I have seen many of his works, including the Breathe series.” 

Even though Main is centred on the female protagonist, it was an easy yes for Sadh. That the movie examined the criminal justice system through a new lens piqued his interest. “It’s intriguing when a script explores how the criminal justice administration works. Main is a cop drama [that offers] a look into the psyche of encounter experts. Human psychology is an interesting theme for me.”

The next schedule of the drama, which also stars Tigmanshu Dhulia and Seema Biswas, will be shot in Mumbai and Bhopal.