After a month of filming in Jaipur, the team of the Bobby Deol-led series Aashram is moving to a controlled location in Amer for the next schedule of the fourth season. We’re told creator-director Prakash Jha decided to shift the venue after the growing presence of fans caused challenges during the Jaipur stint.

A source close to the production said, “There would be a lot of excitement among fans whenever the cast, especially Bobby, would be spotted filming in Jaipur. That sometimes also led to delays in shooting. So, the team decided to shoot the next 20 days in a cordoned-off area in Amer, where they can work without any interruption.”

Actor Akshay Oberoi joined the fourth season with the Rajasthan schedule. His character is expected to bring a new challenge to Deol’s controversial godman Baba Nirala. The source shared, “His presence will lead to a direct conflict with Bobby’s character.”

Ejaz Yusuf Lakdawala, a well-known gangster lodged in Mumbai Central Prison who describes himself in court records as a businessman engaged in property leasing and development, has filed a criminal defamation complaint against filmmaker Prakash Jha. He alleges that the director used his photograph in the web series Aashram to depict him as having links to a drug cartel.

The complaint, filed before the 13th Court of the First Class Magistrate at Sewree under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), seeks prosecution under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal defamation.

According to the complaint, the objectionable scene appears in Season 3 Part 2, Episode 5, released on February 27, 2025. During a courtroom sequence, a lawyer is shown producing documents before a judge referring to “drug cartel and mafia transaction reports”. Lakdawala alleged that his photograph is visibly affixed to one of those documents, creating the impression that he is involved in drug trafficking and organised crime.

Claiming that he has never been involved in any drug-related offence, Lakdawala alleged that the makers of the series used his photograph without obtaining his consent. He contended that the episode, watched by lakhs of viewers, has caused irreparable harm to his reputation, subjected him to humiliation and mental agony, and violated his privacy and personality rights.

In the complaint, Lakdawala describes himself as a law-abiding citizen, a businessman in the property leasing and development sector, and a reputed person in society. He also states that no complaint of any nature is pending against him before any court or judicial forum.

Lakdawala has been widely identified in police records and media reports as an alleged gangster and former associate of underworld figures Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan. He has faced multiple serious criminal cases over the years, including allegations relating to murder, extortion and organised crime, and has been the subject of several prosecutions.

Despite that background, Indian defamation law recognises that every individual has a legally protectable reputation. Lakdawala’s case is based on the specific allegation that the web series falsely associated him with a drug cartel, an allegation he denies, and that his photograph was used without authorisation.

Interestingly, the complaint has been filed nearly 16 months after the release of the episode. Explaining the delay, Lakdawala stated that because he is in judicial custody, he was unable to investigate the matter or obtain details of the accused earlier. The complaint, however, does not disclose when he first became aware of the alleged use of his photograph or why no legal action was initiated immediately after the episode’s release.

Lakdawala has sought issuance of summons against Jha, preservation and production of the relevant footage, and an expedited hearing of the case. He has also requested the court to restrain the accused from leaving the court’s jurisdiction until further orders.

The court will now examine whether sufficient grounds exist to take cognisance of the complaint and issue process against the accused. The allegations made in the complaint are yet to be tested in court, and no findings have been returned against Prakash Jha or the makers of Aashram.

Bobby Deol is as raw, honest and real as it gets. His reinvention as Lord Bobby is what stories are made of, but he carries his renewed stardom with quiet grace. The actor who marks 30 years in the industry this year, has reignited the audience’s interest with bold, dark roles – totally redefining the heartthrob Bobby of Barsaat and Bichhoo days. In the latest episode of Philips LatteGo presents Bombay Times Lounge powered by instax FUJIFILM, Bobby bares his heart and talks about stardom, family bonds, lasting friendships and his remarkable resurgence. Watch the full episode that just dropped on the Bombay Times YouTube channel.

The problem in the world is that people who are bad don’t think they’re bad, because if they knew that, they wouldn’t be bad. So, whenever I play negative characters, I don’t think I’m bad, because if you think that way, then your performance becomes unreal. You have to be the character. You have your own backstory about why you are reacting or feeling this way. If you really look at Animal, my past is sadder than Ranbir’s character. So, I thought about myself as a guy who wanted to protect his family, and for that, he would give his life or take others’ lives.

As an actor, OTT platforms gave me the opportunity to play characters I was seeking, which were outside my comfort zone and away from my image. I am very proud of Class Of '83, which many might not have seen because it released a week after Aashram. For me, the only thing that mattered was to be accepted as an actor, not a star.

I don’t think of myself as a star. I never do. I’m just a normal person who’s trying to do his job, and luckily, it’s a creative job. To be an actor, to be on a set and create different characters - that is what I really enjoy doing.

I got a phone call from their team saying, ‘We’re producing this web series and Aryan Khan is directing it, would you be interested?’ I just said, ‘I’m doing it’. Because I’m a father myself, I have kids (Aryaman and Dharam) who want to be actors, and I know how difficult it is and how much pressure there is. Whatever people say about the industry, we are very close-knit in many ways. We have a great bond, and we care about each other. I sat with Aryan for seven hours for the narration, and the conviction with which he narrated the whole story to me – I was just taken in by it. He was like this child. I call him a child because he’s like a child to me.

The funniest thing is, I never thought about all these things when I was starting out. I really didn’t. In fact, not for a very long time in my career. Later on, when people would say, ‘You were always under the shadow of your dad and your brother,’ and I would think, was I? I never felt it. I never looked at my career like that.

Yes, I have, and it has really helped me. Everyone is genetically different, and no one realizes how any kind of intoxication can affect you. And some people have those genes where you get addicted to things. I just decided that God has given me a second chance, and I really, really want to do my best. You don’t get these kinds of chances in life. The voice has to come from within. I think I’m a better person after I stopped drinking, and I think my relationship has become a hundred times better with everyone I know.

Talking about being directed by Aryan Khan for The Ba**ads Of Bollywood, he says, “Aryan is so mature in his thinking. He’s a real taskmaster and a perfectionist. It was like my own son telling me, ‘I want this, I want you to do it this way.’ If The Ba**ads Of Bollywood is what it is, it’s because of Aryan. He’s proved it to the world. With the pressure he was under… being a superstar like Shah Rukh Khan’s son, to have the guts to step out and have his own voice as a director – hats off to him. I feel so proud of him!”

"Life can never be easy, no matter how talented you are. There are so many cases of people being talented, but not getting work. And there have been cases of so many people who are not talented, but are getting work. But that shouldn’t make you want to make excuses or give up on yourself."

Title sponsor: Philips LatteGo

Powered by: instax FUJIFILM

Three decades in an ever-changing industry — and Bobby Deol’s journey feels as personal as it is cinematic. From the wide-eyed debutant of Barsaat to the fierce, magnetic Lord Bobby, who has captured a new generation of fans, his story is one of faith and reinvention. As he marks 30 years in films, Bobby joins us on Philips LatteGo presents Bombay Times Lounge powered by instax FUJIFILM for an emotional conversation — about his ultimate idol and biggest inspiration, the lessons that came with failure, and the joy of finding new ground in a new era of cinema. The full episode drops soon on the Bombay Times YouTube Channel. Here’s a glimpse of how Bobby won over the audience present at the show — with wit, wisdom, and that unmistakable Lord Bobby charm.

I never thought I would be sitting here and talking about completing 30 years as an actor. All I think about is…I want to be sitting here when I am 90 and doing this. I look up to my father (Dharmendra), and I hope I can work for as long as he has. He makes me stronger in many ways, and also, there is no scope for excuses – my father is turning 90 and he still wants to work, just seeing him ups my self-belief. I believe I’m here for 30 years as I have his blessings and so much love from the audiences because of him.

Barsaat took many years to be made, we started with the shooting when I was about 22-23, and the mahurat was on my birthday, January 27. The directors changed: Shekhar Kapur was directing it, and he got an offer from Hollywood for Bandit Queen. My dad told him, ‘My son’s career is as important to me as your career is to you’, so that’s how Rajkumar Santoshi came in to direct it. The premiere at Metro Cinema was one of the most exciting nights of my life. I was really nervous. I had to sit in the car with Twinkle Khanna (her debut film, too) and arrive at the theatre. I told her…Tina just hold my hand, I am feeling very nervous. And she was like, “What nervous?” You know how outspoken she is. It had rained that day (true to the title of the film). Back then it wouldn’t rain in October. It was a huge event and everyone from the industry was invited.

I am lucky that I have a huge family, I don’t need to talk to people besides my family and close friends. But if you ask me, I am friendly with Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji. I have known them from the beginning. With Preity, I had an argument during the making of Soldier and then we got close. Even with Rani, we had an argument during Bichoo and then we became friends. Akshaye Khanna is also a sweetheart; he is a recluse but such an awesomely talented actor. I call him every year on his birthday.

That was my biggest fear – what would my fans think? Because they mostly want to see the actors they love as the good guy. But now the audience’s mindset has changed, as they are exposed to so much content from around the world. So, when I got the opportunity to do Aashram, they accepted me in that character. I didn’t tell my dad or my brother (Sunny) that I’m doing the show, because I knew they’re from the old school of films, where they believe that if you have a certain image, you have to play those kinds of characters. From the word go, I always wanted to do different kinds of characters, but I didn’t get those chances earlier. I’m enjoying this phase of my career. I think it’s the best time for me as an actor.

He wants to be an actor and he is working on himself right now. I’m just hoping that I get somebody to work with who would launch him.

I think everybody knows me. I’m what I am. I say what I feel, and I think people see that and respect it. I don’t have a defence mechanism or portray something I am not. Sometimes I get carried away with things and I just have to control that. I guess that’s a very real trait, right?

-----------------------------

We’ve learnt to expect the unexpected from Anurag Kashyap. Even then, the filmmaker surprised us by casting Bobby Deol, a star as mainstream as they come, in Bandar (Monkey in a Cage). When Kashyap sits down with us days after the movie’s première at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), he says that Deol was the perfect choice to lead the story of an ageing television star, whose life changes overnight when he is accused of rape by his ex-girlfriend after he cuts off all ties with her.

“The story is of a has-been. The actor had to be my age as my generation has not transitioned well to the social media age. Bobby understands what failure means. He has seen his career fade away and then he found his way back,” says Kashyap.

Through Bandar, the director has explored the grey areas of #MeToo accusations, the fine line between right and wrong, and questioned the treatment of inmates in Indian prisons. When Kashyap narrated the film to Deol, he immediately wanted to play the complex role. What the actor told him about his struggle has remained with the filmmaker even today.

“Bobby said that if he’d pass by a house where a shoot was happening, he would cry or get angry wondering why nobody was asking him to act in that film. He told me, ‘At 40, somebody told me I needed to do an acting workshop. Then I played the most disgusting person I know in Aashram. That’s when I realized it’s liberating to play characters and not always the hero.’ Bobby was perfect for this role because he understood all that. I could identify with Bobby because I have been written off many times,” shares the director before praising his leading man for being “emotionally bare” in the film.

Owing to its theme, Bandar has created ripples at TIFF. Kashyap isn’t surprised, knowing well that his recent work is “polarizing and hard-hitting”.

He reasons, “It’s a conversation starter. That’s why it has been impactful. Bandar has been the most difficult movie to make emotionally because it’s a film about things in the past when there was no social media. We’re dealing with an emotional subject. We’re asking questions. I didn’t share the script with any actor because I was also in the process of finding my film.”

To Kashyap, Bandar is a film about making mistakes, and more importantly, “being called out for it”. The director elaborates, “We were given a second chance to redeem ourselves. Today, it is [the age of] cancel culture. The world doesn’t give anybody a chance to redeem themselves. Everything will go viral! We are in an age where we need to start having conversations.”

In chronicling a list of the anticipated OTT offerings of 2025, several platforms aptly pointed to the Bobby Deol-fronted conman show, Aashram, which was lapped up by audiences upon its August 2020 release owing to its gritty narrative. Three seasons in, Prakash Jha’s directorial venture has amassed a loyal fan base that keeps track of the show’s forthcoming episodes. Evidently then, when news relating to another season hit headlines, it gave fans reason to rejoice. However, a source close to the production tells mid-day that the glimpses of the new content circulating online do not belong to the fourth season. 

“What has been shot is part of season three itself. It took time to release these episodes because of the merger between [OTT platforms] MX Player and Amazon,” says the source, highlighting that the 10 episodes that are available in the third season are only part of the 15-episode series that was initially shot.

“The remaining five episodes, what we’re calling Aashram 3.5, are ready to be released and will be aired this year after a formal announcement on the new channel belonging to the merged platforms. The new episodes will see Baba Nirala, aka Monty Singh [Deol], confronting his past ghosts. It will include glimpses of his past experiences that shaped his current status and those that will influence his future actions. It will also showcase Pammi’s [Aaditi Pohankar] agenda and where her desire for revenge leads her, as well as Sonia’s [Esha Gupta] true intentions. After Baba Nirala lands in jail at the end of season three, we will see that despite his imprisonment, he continues to manipulate people.”

Jha tells mid-day that while he doesn’t know when the new episodes will be released, he is aware that Amazon is keen to take the franchise ahead. “The five episodes that are set to be released will reveal that, aashram zinda hai. We are still talking about season four. A fresh story has been written for it, but I have told the team that while I will mentor it, somebody else must direct that. However, it all depends on the [decision taken by] the platform. We’re yet to see how things will pan out.”

Jha, in the meanwhile, has a political drama series titled Sankalp in his kitty. Starring Nana Patekar, Zeeshan Ayyub, Neeraj Kabi, and Sanjay Kapoor, the show is ready for release on Jio Cinema.

After a lean phase that lasted for many years, Bobby Deol made a comeback with a bang. The actor made his way back to the spotlight with his work on OTT, like Class of ’83, Love Hostel and Aashram, for which he won a lot of appreciation. While he was thrilled about his new innings on OTT, the actor was always yearning to make a grand re-entry on the big screen. Of course, then Animal changed the course of his career.

“Every actor’s dream is to be seen on the silver screen. The magic of the silver screen is unmatched. I wonder what kind of impact a show like Aashram would have had if it was a theatrical film. Wherever I go, people still talk to me about the show and about my characters in Love Hostel and Animal. In fact, there was chatter about how the audience wanted to see spin-offs of my roles from these two projects. The audience’s desire to watch more of me is what I have always craved for as an actor,” Bobby says.

Ask Bobby whether he has decoded the secret behind his recent success and the exciting roles he is being offered, and he says, “There is no answer to that. I feel that when an individual’s self-belief is strong and when they are positive and focused, they create a kind of energy that attracts the right people. I believe that is happening to me. But I must also acknowledge that my fans have always been there for me. They have supported me right from the time I started my career. Today, I know how happy they are for me... it’s amazing.”

While he’s kicked about the way the audience is accepting him in various roles in this phase of his career, he misses the kind of privacy and calm actors enjoyed back in the day. Bobby, who will soon be seen in Tamil film Kanguva, explains, “Earlier, actors could keep their lives private. Now you can’t do that (laughs). Every individual needs their personal space, but today, it is difficult for actors to have any privacy.”

One can’t imagine a better time for Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol to come together on screen. After all, each actor has enjoyed a blockbuster this year—from the veteran actor in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, to Sunny’s Gadar 2: The Katha Continues and Bobby’s Animal. Naturally then, there is much interest around Apne 2, which was announced in November 2020. However, Bobby says the family drama won’t roll anytime soon.

Reason—director Anil Sharma and the team haven’t found the perfect script to bring together three generations of the Deol family, including Sunny’s son Karan. Bobby says, “We have a concept, but we’re still searching for the right kind of story. It all depends when the story gets ready. We’re clear that we will make Apne 2 only when we feel that it has rich emotions and the right [dose of] drama. It should be a heartfelt emotional story upholding family values, like Apne. God has been kind to all of us this year, so now we need to be careful about what we do together.”

It has been a successful second innings for Bobby, who returned to the movies after a long hiatus with Poster Boys (2017) and Race 3 (2018). While Love Hostel (2022) and Aashram caught everyone’s attention, his popularity soared as he played the antagonist in Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. Interestingly, in the past few years, he has continuously taken up dark roles. Has that been a conscious decision?

“I’m not always looking to play negative characters. I want to play different characters. Portraying Kashipurwale baba [in Aashram] was challenging. During the first few days of Aashram shoot, when I was playing something all-out negative for the first time, I’d feel a bit disgusted with myself. But then I accepted that the character is like that. Now, playing dark roles doesn’t affect me. I don’t carry the characters in my head.”

Up next, he will be seen as the baddie in Tamil movie Kanguva, and Telugu offering Hari Hara Veera Mallu where he will reportedly play the tyrannical Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. “I cannot comment as the makers haven’t officially announced anything. I select roles on the basis of their substance. I’ve got offers from big banners to play the villain, but I said no because I cannot do caricature villains. I’ve been lucky to be appreciated whenever I played negative characters.”

------------------------------------------------

“Nasty stories were created around me after Raaz 2. A big producer told someone who wished to cast me that though I was a good actor, I was extremely difficult to work with and didn’t report to work on time. If that were true, why would Mahesh Bhatt give me another film?”

------------------------------------------------

“I might be living a luxurious life, but that’s because of my father. For someone passionate about his craft, even a five-star house can feel like a jail.”

Ask any teenager from the late 90s and even the most unassuming one will confess to a notorious history of discovering new music and movies through piracy. The noughties arrived with bootleg video libraries and dial-up internet modems. And the new web-straddling generation — mostly ignorant or uncaring of ethical and legal bearings of piracy — were either buying shaky-cam versions of a blockbuster off the streets or downloading entire discographies and films over peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

It was only a crackdown on illegal sites and shops and the advent of streaming tech that prompted ex-torrenters to kick their habit. However, piracy is anything but dead.

Turns out, if streaming services love the cloud, the pirates love it too since it makes it easier to download, mirror and circulate content illegally and harder for broadcasters to track them. The year 2020 particularly sparked a video piracy bonanza as the pandemic kept people home and out of theatres. Antipiracy agency Aiplex in Bengaluru notes that 23 million people in India had watched at least one episode of ‘Scam 1992’ although Sony LIV accounted for only two million subscribers while ‘Aashram’, one of MX Player’s most popular shows, would have gained 20% more viewership if watched legally.

“According to a report by Digital TV Research in 2021, the loss of revenue for OTT players on account of piracy in India is expected to hit $3.08 billion by 2022, while the cost of global online streaming piracy will reach $52 billion by 2022,” points out Girish Kumar, managing director of Aiplex.

Gautam Talwar, chief content officer for MX Player, calls piracy a “hard habit to break” given people’s inclination to download pirated versions of their content despite shows being available for free on their ad-driven platform. Talwar, during a recent consumer survey, stumbled upon hole-in-the-wall shops that have sprung up in cities like Indore and Bhopal where every web series available on every platform is being sold for as little as Rs 20.

“These are located close to coaching centres and youngsters equipped with laptops and catalogues of entire series with their IMDb ratings are transferring content onto people’s phones. It’s so organized that it’s scary. It’s hurting the business and creative people,” says Talwar.

“The exponential growth of OTT services has sort of facilitated piracy because the same technology of sending content over a high-speed internet connection is being leveraged by pirates to distribute and monetize content,” says Sharath Kumar, founder and CEO of the Chennai-based MassBunk Antipiracy that recently removed 14,000 pirated links of the film ‘Vikram’, within a week of its release.

As piracy enters this new landscape, techies like Sharath and Girish Kumar, with their teams comprising data scientists, software engineers, copyright experts and offline investigators, are using artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art proprietary tools to tackle the tidal wave of pirated content on the web.

“As a computer engineer fresh out of college in 2016, my dream was to become a filmmaker. But as a techie, watching piracy destroy budding directors and producers, I decided to get together with a few college mates and design something that would weed out piracy from its roots. Our motive was to protect not just the content but also investigate and nab those behind all the notorious sites,” recounts Kumar of MassBunk.

Helping a neighbour whose YouTube channel was deactivated because of a copyright strike gave Girish his most successful business idea. “It got me thinking about copyright enforcement. My team of engineers and I spent more than a year devising an antipiracy tool that can extract, validate and delete 95% of copyright infringements in the online space. Our AI-enabled pattern identification technology has also helped us draw up a list of potential and habitual offenders,” says Girish.

While much of it is still about movies and shows, digital piracy in its new avatar applies to e-books and gaming as well. If social media is often used to share pirated content within closed groups or as a signpost, the leading source of pirated content today, they claim, are popular messaging apps like Telegram with its end-to-end encryption that allows pirates and users to conceal their identity and share texts, videos, or other copyrighted content.

“Ninety per cent use Telegram to download their favourite movies, shows, music, and e-books. The process starts with a channel admin posting hyperlinks to pirated content available on a third party streaming/download site. These third-party sites pay the admins according to the number of visits, downloads and streams on their site,” explains Sharath.

“And pirates make most of their money from ad revenues. Legitimate businesses, including well-known brands in search of high traffic, inadvertently place their ads on pirate websites,” says Abhishek Dhoreliya, founder and CEO of MarkScan, an antipiracy agency in Delhi.

“Simulcasting or live streaming video to multiple channels from one platform; extraction of files and capturing videos from streaming services; mobile compatible modified versions of a streaming app that one can install on their Android device are some of the new trends,” says Girish, adding that, “NFT piracy is picking up pace, too, where pirates create counterfeit NFTs and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.”

The work of these antipiracy task forces begins at least a week before a film is about to be released, monitoring websites and Telegram channels round the clock that are likely to post links to the movie once the first pirated print is leaked. “We have teams dedicated to each regional language, and the moment anyone informs us over social media, DMs or email, we remove the links in bulk,” says Sharath, who has filed nearly 50 FIRs till date. MassBunk also teams up with social media influencers, fans and citizen collectives who often alert them to illegal links during a movie’s release.

“Our teams work round the clock to monitor online discussion forums, search engines, user generated platforms like YouTube and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook,” says Dhoreliya, who has partnered with many of these sites for access to their ‘takedown tool’ that allows them moderator privilege to remove any pirated content on their platforms.

That apart, search-engine delisting and domain blocking via Ashok Kumar order (Indian substitute for John Doe order), a legal remedy against unknown offenders, is an effective counter-measure, believes Girish, whose team recently helped keep films like ‘JugJugg Jeeyo’ (Hindi), ‘Bairagee’ (Kannada), ‘Nadi Dosh’ (Gujarati), ‘Khaao Piyo Aish Karo’ (Punjabi) from popping up on rogue websites. “Such legal orders are a crucial strategy in tackling piracy ahead of big-ticket releases,” says Dhoreliya.

While piracy in India is a criminal act that could attract a three-year prison term and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakhs, most of the perpetrators use offshore servers in foreign countries like UK and France where laws and punishments differ, say these antipiracy crusaders. “Unlike physical CD shops and sellers that were easy to identify and catch, pirates could be anywhere in the world using privacy protection services to hide on the Internet,” adds Dhoreliya, who feels that changes in the copyright laws in India to address new forms of digital piracy and collaboration between stakeholders — content owners, government entities and antipiracy agencies — could help take the bull by the horns.

There was a time when actor Chandan Roy Sanyal felt “lost” and “discontented” with the work he was getting. That, however, changed with Aashram.

Sanyal, who is making headlines for his role as Bhopa inthe web series, is grateful to director Prakash Jha for bringing the project to him. Having played characters with shorter screen time in films, he says, “Aashram is like 15-28 films [in terms of screen time]. I have almost 400 minutes of screen time. That’s how I look at it. That’s what changed for me,” he says.

Looking back at the time when he felt disappointed at not getting “rewards” despite receiving good reviews, Sanyal says, “I just felt weak because even if I was doing a lot of projects, there was discontentment of not getting the rewards.”

But this outlook changed during the pandemic. He adds: “During the pandemic, Aashram (1 and 2) released and then I did Sanak. All three of them did so well that I realised that my own thoughts were coming in the way of my success. I got an opportunity to restart, rework on myself and see where things go.”

The OTT space has worked well for Sanyal, much like many other actors. He believes that the shift in focus from stars to content, has given the right opportunities to talented artistes and given them recognition.

Next to be seen in director Navdeep Singh’s web show, Sanyal wishes to explore other genres, especially comedy, in the future. “I’m not a villain but a comedian,” he signs off.

She’s a prominent face in the digital space today, but Anupria Goenka didn’t grow up wanting to be an actor. Her love for theatre led her to movies and acting, which she feels is her identity today. So far, she has been seen in films like Padmaavat and War, as well as web shows like MX Player’s much-acclaimed Aashram. In a chat with BT, the actress talks about finding her comfort zone in the industry, how OTT platforms gave her career a boost and found a foothold in showbiz. Excerpts:

I think Mumbai is home now and this city does give a lot to people. Yes, life isn’t easy here, but like most people say, and I too believe that Mumbai aapko apna leti hai. As long as you work hard, you will find a place and will be able to chase your ambitions here. Talking about my time in the industry, I left my cushy, corporate job and started working as an actor. I found my calling pretty late in life, but today, acting has become my identity.

Thankfully, I entered the industry when casting directors were active and there was a set way of doing things. I didn’t have any contacts, so I did multiple auditions to get work. I am happy that we are in this phase; otherwise, 10 years ago, it was far more difficult to enter this industry. I got good work because of the casting directors we have today. It was because of them that I got films like Tiger Zinda Hai and Padmaavat. Director Pradeep Sarkar, who worked with me when I was new to the industry, showed faith in me. He liked me instantly and we went on to do so many ads together. There are good people in the industry, and they pushed me to work further. Then, of course, I got an opportunity to work with Sanjay sir (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), Ali Abbas Zafar and Siddharth Anand (director of War) and so on. I was never star-struck. I became a fan of all those great actors I got to work with only after I worked with them and saw their professional drive.

At the beginning of my career, I had a hard time distinguishing between good and not-so-good production houses and projects. I remember I almost took up a film thinking that it was a great opportunity as I was getting to play the lead role. But after seeing my friends’ reactions, I didn’t go ahead with it. I was too shy to visit production houses or call up casting directors for work. Today, I message directors saying, ‘Hey, I hear this project is being under discussion and I would love to test for it.’ Earlier, I was not comfortable doing that.

While earlier I was shy, over a period of time, I have realised that this is also a part of my job profile, and there’s no shame in asking for something you want or wish to do. If you ask me to narrate the other kind of hassles, where someone makes a pass at you or asks you to compromise, yes, I have faced that too. However, my early life experiences have made me strong, and that reflects in my personality. Probably, I could not get as much work as I could have if I had favoured a few people. Yes, favouritism exists, but talent is definitely appreciated in the industry.

I am happy that I got an opportunity to play prominent roles in films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Padmaavat and War. At the same time, I also got to play some promising parts in web shows like Aashram, Asur: Welcome To Your Dark Side, Criminal Justice and The Final Call. The digital medium has played a big role in shaping my career. I got to play such diverse characters on these shows, which somehow went on to become the flagship shows of their respective platforms. This resulted in my OTT identity becoming so strong today. Had the OTT space not opened up, actors like me would have felt far more restless and anxious. With the digital medium, one can witness overnight success. We can show our talent and reach out to the masses with web shows. I stopped acting in ads because there’s so much work in the digital space. Otherwise, when I started off, for the first five years, ads were my bread and butter.

This year, with my last release, I got to essay a lead role in Mere Desh Ki Dharti, where I got to play a village girl. That’s something I wanted to do for a long time. I have also shot for a film with Vinay Pathak, where I am in a lead role as a psycho killer. Then there’s Berlin, where I play the female lead. Apart from these, I am also excited about doing an action-oriented film, and a web series that will see me in a negative role. I am happy that I am doing a variety of roles this year. Yes, things are moving in the right direction, but whether it is really happening the way I wanted it to, well, not yet, to be honest! I hope filmmakers also start seeing me in that light.

Esha Gupta, whose boyfriend Manuel Campos Guallar is from Spain, had made the country her home during the pandemic. The actress has now returned to India and will join the team of MX Player’s Aashram that reunites her with director Prakash Jha. In a conversation with BT, she opens up about falling in love at first sight and navigating a long-distance relationship. Excerpts

In recent times work took me to California, and I also travelled to London. Now I am in India for a shoot. I am really excited about MX Player’s Aashram. Director Prakash Jha is someone who believed in me and gave me an opportunity in his film Chakravyuh at the beginning of my career. He is one of those people who taught me a lot without teaching me directly.

I remember watching the first season of Aashram with my family in Delhi during the lockdown. While watching it, I told my mom that it would be interesting to be a part of a project like this, and soon, I was approached for the second season.

The Coronavirus pandemic allowed us to spend a lot of time with each other. However, we were aware of the fact that we would be in a long-distance relationship. We enjoy our time together, but we are very secure enough in our relationship to enjoy our time apart as well. Work requires me to travel, so I will, and the moment I am not shooting, I will head to Spain to spend time with him. I feel, if both individuals are ambitious about their work, they need to have an understanding of each other’s careers, and once that happens, things should run pretty smoothly.

Manuel is into real estate and his firm reached out to me for some work. I met him for the first time in Rome, and it was love at first sight...at least for me. I made sure he fell for me too (laughs!). We connected really well during our first meeting. After we returned to our respective countries, we kept in touch. Then we met once again after nearly two months. Back then, we didn’t know the direction in which this relationship was going to go, but now, two years down the line, we know exactly where it’s going.

There’s always a right time for everything. I will wait for mine!

Manuel likes the fact that I am religious. I have created a small space in our home in Spain where I say my prayers. He likes to see me in traditional Indian wear. On Dussehra, I wore a saree to attend a puja through a video call with my parents (who were in India). Post the call, he asked me not to change and made me meet his entire family in the traditional look. Like Indians, the Spanish, too, are very family-oriented people. Manuel is also extremely close to his family and relatives.

To be honest, I never thought of living in any other country than India. I am a total Delhiite at heart. My friends there are mesmerized seeing the pictures of India that I post on social media. They want me to take them to places like Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi. My stay in Spain has only expanded my horizons. It has definitely helped work-wise, and I got a lot of exposure to international cinema. As an actor, you are a global citizen. But home will always be India for me, no matter where I live.

I love myself and the way I look. I have always been comfortable in my skin. Initially, it used to bother me when people would troll me. I have realised that it doesn’t matter what they say. I became good friends with a photographer in Madrid. Whenever we get a chance, we do these shoots. It is like a woman being a woman in these pictures. That’s the idea. I don’t have any other agenda like eyeing roles in projects. I believe that if you ignore your trolls, they end up becoming your fans. No matter how much they hate you, they will eventually love you.

In his second innings at the movies, it’s evident that Bobby Deol is choosing roles with more abandon, eager to experiment the way he hadn’t done before. His upcoming film, Love Hostel, is a prime example. The ZEE5 film, which revolves around honour killing, sees him play a mercenary in pursuit of a young couple.

Deol says, “I have realised that once an actor’s image is built, it’s difficult to break it. My dad [Dharmendra] and brother [Sunny Deol] were not able to do it. But I have always wanted to do different roles. [Earlier] I never got the opportunity [to experiment]. But the way people accepted my negative role in Aashram, proved that they want to see actors in varied roles.”

After Aashram, Deol will be seen in a negative role again in the Sanya Malhotra and Vikrant Massey film. Does he not worry about being typecast? “It’s true that if you do a role well, you get the same kind of offers. But negative characters can be played in several different ways,” he argues.

Though his early years in the industry were hard, the actor’s passion for cinema remains unbridled. He credits it to actor-father Dharmendra, whom he considers his inspiration. “You learn from your mistakes. You can have people around [who inspire you] — like my father who has so much fire in him — but you have to [teach] yourself to create that fire. Recently, he told me, ‘I had thought I would work till 80. Today, I am 86 and still working. I am grateful for that.’ It inspires me to see him working even at this age.”

She kicked off her digital innings with the second instalment of RejectX in 2020 and followed it up with Nakaab early this year. Enjoying the new found prominence in the OTT space, Esha Gupta has now been signed on for two more projects — Invisible Woman opposite Suniel Shetty and the third season of the Bobby Deol-starrer Ashram.

Prakash Jha’s debut web series follows the journey of conman-turned-godman Kashipur Waale Baba Nirala (Deol’s character) and his misdeeds for two seasons. The culmination of the third season is suspected to bring out the skeletons out of the closet. Gupta, a new addition to the edition, has been roped in to play Baba’s image corrector.

The actor, who recently wrapped up her schedule for the series says, “I play an image manager [in the show]. The role is unlike any I have essayed on screen. It is exciting to get into the skin of a character that challenges me.”

While Jha and writer Habib Faisal outlined the character in detail, the actor took up the role after a “good amount of research”.

Bhopal: Bajrang Dal activists allegedly smeared ink on filmmaker Prakash Jha’s face and disrupted the shooting of the web series ‘Aashram 3’ in Bhopal on Sunday evening. They vandalised the set and damaged several vehicles, including lead actor Bobby Deol’s vanity van.

Four suspects were arrested late at night, DIG Irshad Wali told TOI, adding that all the culprits will be nabbed and strict action taken against them. No complaint had been filed till then.

The DIG said police can take action in cognizable offences without waiting for a complaint. A case under IPC 151 was registered at MP Nagar late at night. “No such incident will take place in the city in the future. All the crew members are safe,” Wali said, adding, “We are taking proper measures to keep the city safe from those who are trying to defame it.”

VHP-Bajrang Dal Madhya Prant spokesperson Jitendra Chouhan said the 'protest' was carried out by Bajrang Dal. “We demand that the government refuse permission for the shooting of films that hurt Hindu sentiments,” he said. The organisation issued a statement, saying it objects to the naming of the web series.

The incident occurred in Old Jail area in Arera Hills.

Around 50 alleged Bajrang Dal activists barged into the set, manhandled bouncers and also raised slogans against Jha and Bobby Deol, claiming that the web series “hurts Hindu sentiments”.

There was tension in the area and traffic was disrupted on the busy road. Senior police officers rushed to the spot and tried to defuse tension. Police used mild force to disperse the protesters, surrounded the area and forced the protesters out.

Shooting for the web series started in Bhopal last week. Hindu organisations have opposed it all along, saying it shows Hinduism in a bad light. They demand a total ban on its shoot in Bhopal and wanted the series to be renamed.

In 'The Family Man 2' where the lines between heroes and villains are blurred, with each character’s motivation fuelled by the unjust done to him, Darshan Kumaar’s Major Sameer stands out as the only all-black character. As the mastermind behind the terror attack, he is seen running the show from London. 

“Major Sameer is always ready with a Plan B. He has the capacity to carry out huge missions, is flamboyant yet focused, and can go to any lengths to execute his plans. He is the most dangerous guy on the show. As we see in the news, there are many like Major Sameer who are killing countless innocent people for their selfish reasons,” says Kumaar, happy with the praise coming his way for his restrained act. 

“My phone is filled with messages of praise from the film fraternity. It was a tough part; I had to create a backstory and work with conviction. After the shoot, it took me two weeks to shake off the character.”

The actor has another promising release in 'Toofaan' that sees him alongside Farhan Akhtar and Paresh Rawal. He underwent two-month training at a boxing facility in Mumbai before slipping into the role of a Maharashtrian boxer, Dharmesh Patil. “This phase feels like déjà vu. Last year, around the same time, two of my shows — 'Avrodh' and 'Aashram' — had dropped, and were loved by the audience. Now, 'The Family Man' is bringing a smile to people’s faces in these critical times. Hopefully, Toofaan will do the same,” says Kumaar, who has also shot for a film with Zee Studio, and has a thriller with R Madhavan in the pipeline.