With projects like Sir (2018), Delhi Crime 2, The Night Manager (TNM) and Lust Stories 2, Tillotama Shome manages to make a mark with each role.

Giving an insight into her process of picking projects, Shome says, “A good script and a director I can trust are key. A director who is also the writer is a big bonus. A professional setup is obviously a given. It is difficult to be creative if you don’t feel safe.”

Calling herself “the quintessential late bloomer”, she shares OTT gave her space. She adds, “The staggering response of the audience to an independent film, called Is Love Enough - Sir, was very unexpected. And everything since has been a blessing. I was lucky to work with directors who gave me the freedom to be myself, and the space and time for all my questions and suggestions. It has been two years since I got busy with work and not a day goes by when this fails to fill me with wonder. I am grateful to all the women [characters] I have played on screen; my life is so much richer because of them.”

The actor portrayed the role of a gritty RAW agent in TNM while the Konkona Sen Sharma-directorial segment in Lust Stories 2, titled The Mirror, saw her as Isheeta, who derives pleasure from peeping at her house help, Seema, and her husband, Kamal, getting intimate in the bedroom.

Having worked with Sen Sharma in A Death In The Gunj (2016) previously, she says, “Konkona is a reluctant, but wonderful director. I find it very exciting to work with directors who are also writers, as having a writer on the set can really free an actor.”