Five years after her last television outing, Erica Fernandes recently returned with 108 Base Hospital Uri. The finite series, in which she plays Major Naina Sanyal, offered her a defined role and a working process that appealed to her. Her move to Dubai in 2022, meanwhile, was driven by her desire for greater privacy and personal space.

On what prompted her return to television, Erica says, “This show has been made like films and OTT projects, in terms of its writing and shooting. Television is usually rushed, but that is not the case here. I have always been inclined towards medical shows, so playing an Army surgeon felt like an amazing opportunity. Another factor was that it is a 30-episode finite series, where we know how the storyline and characters will progress. I don’t want to do something that doesn’t have an end.”

She adds, “A finite show also doesn’t allow typecasting. It so happens on television that people start thinking, ‘Yeh bahu hi hai aur isko bas salwaar-kameez aur saris mein dekhein.’ Woh ek stamp jaise chhap jaati hai in people’s minds. I stepped away from TV shows because I wanted to break away from the image people had created.”

Her decision to move to Dubai was also driven by the importance she places on privacy. Erica adds, “I like my space and privacy, and that’s why I shifted to Dubai. Privacy is one of the main priorities there. One is not allowed to take anyone’s pictures without their consent, among other things. Here, people sometimes just pull you as if you are their property.”