“It has been uphill,” says Taha Shah Badussha, describing his rise to the national crush status and the audience lapping up his turn as Nawab Tajdar Baloch in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. “Andar se mujhe yaqeen tha ki ek din log mujhe pasand karenge, but I didn’t realise that it would happen so suddenly,” adds Badussha, gobsmacked about how the number of likes on his posts has shot into lakhs from a few hundred.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial has also spelt a brutal phase of trolling for his co-star Sharmin Segal. “I spoke to her at the success party and she was very happy. Sharmin is a very strong person and she knows exactly what she is doing. She will get through this,” says the 36-year-old, adding, “I’m no one to speak about how the audience perceives something. I have been on the other side, too, but now I have been accepted — so, it’s a journey.”

He also made his Cannes debut at the 77th edition of the film festival, where he launched the poster of his next film, Paro. “Cannes is an animal. Only when you are there, do you realize its magnificence. It’ll be on my list every year,” says Badussha, who is unfazed by the criticism around his accent during his Cannes appearance.

“I was born in Dubai. I studied in the UK, USA and here (India), so my accent is all over the place. I have no single accent and I am an actor; my acting keeps changing. I accept my change and I hope that it keeps changing,” he signs off.