The actor in ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’; (right) ‘Ramayana: Part 1’

Look at Sheeba Chadha’s line-up and you’re bound to be impressed. While Mirzapur: The Movie is unstoppable at the box office, the second season of Bakaiti will drop online next week, followed by the year’s biggest film, Ramayana: Part 1, in November. How does she react to this string of projects?

“It’s not something I get up in the morning and think of. It’s great if it has consequences in the work going forward. But there’s no way of knowing that,” Chadha told mid-day over a Zoom call. 

While this detachment helps the actor not pressure herself about a project, she doesn’t apply this approach to Mirzapur. As someone who has been a regular since the series premièred in 2018, seeing it becoming a big-screen success feels special.

She shared, “All of us have an emotional connect with Mirzapur. You think the audience is so used to seeing you in a series. So, the only thought in my head was whether it would sit well with them as a movie. I have so much gratitude for their love because wherever I travel to, the only thing I get asked about is Mirzapur. I’m sure it will set a trend in the industry of series being adapted into films.”

Even as she is moving from the film to another biggie in Ramayana: Part 1, Chadha’s focus remains on her character’s evolution. The actor, who plays Manthara in director Nitesh Tiwari’s epic, said, “People’s expectations aren’t unnerving for me. I’ve done my job as an actor.”

That said, what the film stands for in the landscape of Indian movies isn’t lost on her. “[I came on board] due to the enormity of the project. Nitesh sir is very nice to actors and clear about what he wants.”

Manthara was Queen Kaikeyi’s lady-in-waiting. She seeded the idea of demanding Ram’s exile, in Kaikeyi’s mind