Writer Anu Singh Choudhary is more confident than nervous as the third season of Aarya premières today. Her belief comes from the writers’ room that creator-director Ram Madhvani made for the Sushmita Sen-starrer.

“Ram has an intensive writers’ room. Sometimes, we’d work for 10 hours a day. He is relentless. After every season, I decide that I am never going to work on this [again]. Yet, here I am,” laughs Choudhary, who had Khushboo Agarwal Raj and Amit Raj as co-writers.

Season on season, leading lady Sen only elevates the crime drama that has its roots in the Dutch show, Penoza. Choudhary praises her, saying, “I have been on the set a couple of times since the first season, and to see her transform into the character was amazing. She lifted the material with her strength and confidence. The written words were elevated to a level that the [dialogues] didn’t matter after a while; only her imbibing them did.”

What warms Choudhary’s heart is how the Disney+ Hotstar series, centred on a woman compelled to rule the drug world while protecting her kids fiercely, is embraced by women and men alike.

“Aarya is one of those rare shows that is led by a woman, but has everybody excited. Men watch it with as much involvement. It’s the story of a homemaker, who becomes a don. She is surviving in a man’s world with her head held high, and will kill if need be. For a platform and producers to have the courage to back this story is rare.”