If you follow content creator Sufi Motiwala on Instagram, you know that sass comes naturally to him. So, when the makers of Do You Wanna Partner, led by Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty, were casting for a sassy character, it’s not surprising that Motiwala ended up bagging it.

“They weren’t able to find someone because the role had sass, flair, and flamboyance. The makers were testing a lot of people. Eventually, the opportunity came to me to test for the role,” he recalls.

But the road to his acting debut wasn’t easy. Motiwala had to go through a series of auditions. “My first audition was really bad because I was trying to play a straight person. Then Archit [Kumar, director] sir met me and said, ‘Babe, you can be yourself.’ That’s when I got the hang of my character,” he says.

Even though the Prime Video series is his second screen outing after The Traitors, Motiwala shot for Do You Wanna Partner before the reality show. While he was anxious, co-stars Bhatia and Penty eased him into the process. Were there any lessons he learnt from his experienced co-stars?

“I’d keep chatting with everybody on set, and by the seventh hour, I was tired. From Tammy, I learnt to conserve my energy so that it shows on camera. From Diana, I learnt commitment as she wouldn’t cancel her shoot even if she was sick.”

Last week, Karan Johar caught the attention of many when Dharmatic Entertainment, his production house’s web wing, announced Showtime. The Disney+ Hotstar offering is touted to be an insider’s look into the entertainment business, examining the practice of nepotism and the struggles of outsiders viewed through the lens of a leading studio. That it is coming from the filmmaker who faced the heat in the nepotism debate makes it all the more intriguing.

While it was announced that Emraan Hashmi will headline the series, mid-day has learnt that the makers have zeroed in on television actor Mahima Makwana for the female lead.

For a studio that has launched many star kids in the recent past, the casting can be viewed as an interesting move to subvert its public perception. A source reveals that Makwana — who has done a string of popular television shows, including Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke, Adhuri Kahaani Hamari and Mariam Khan: Reporting Live — was brought on board after several rounds of auditions.

“After doing two Telugu movies, she made her Bollywood debut with Salman Khan-starrer Antim: The Final Truth last year. She was one of the many contenders for Showtime, and did multiple screen tests over four months before being finalised. Besides the web series, she has shot for Ashwiny Iyer and Nitesh Tiwari’s next, Bas Karo Aunty,” says the source.

It was a conscious call on the makers’ part to hire a relatively fresh face for the series, given the nature of its story.

If things go as planned, the team will take the project on floors by November. “It will be directed by Mihir Desai, who recently helmed Masoom, and Archit Kumar of Dr Arora fame. The ensemble cast is currently being locked,” adds the source.

The series will be primarily shot in Mumbai, with the first schedule planned as a four-month stint.

After starting her career on the big screen, Sandeepa Dhar is enjoying her time on the web exploring myriad characters. Her two upcoming shows could not be more different. While Sony LIV’s Dr Arora sees her as a Morena woman, whose husband seeks the help of a sexologist, Tera Chhalaava on Hungama Play has her playing her first negative role. Dhar talks about the two offerings, the multitude of experiences, and the joy of working with Imtiaz Ali.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

The excitement will come once the shows release, and I get the feedback. As of now, it is sheer nervousness.

I auditioned for Dr. Arora and forgot about it because I was shooting for other things. About 15 days later, I got a callback from Imtiaz Ali’s office stating that they liked my test and Imtiaz wanted to talk to me. They set up a Zoom call because I was in Pondicherry at the time. I was nervous about getting on a Zoom call with him because it is one thing to talk to someone on a call, and another to have a face-to-face chat. I didn’t want to leave a bad first impression. I couldn’t sleep the previous night because I was nervous about meeting Imtiaz. You expect directors to have an aura, but Imtiaz doesn’t have any of it. He spoke to me as if he had known me forever. I couldn’t process the fact that he was complimenting my work. He told me about the show and my character. I was shocked when he asked me to come back and read the script.

When he told me the subject, I was intrigued because Imtiaz is known for making love stories. I would have been apprehensive of the subject, if it was not with Imtiaz. He brings credibility. The show won’t make you cringe or uncomfortable. From the writing, you can tell that they used the subject to educate, with a tinge of humour. My parents [and their generation] might feel uncomfortable about the subject because they come from a certain conditioning. We are the [second] most populated country in the world, and still shying away from [discussing sex]. That said, today’s generation is far more comfortable talking about it.

I had to understand the culture of people in Madhya Pradesh. The show is set in the ’90s. When I was younger, during winter vacations, we used to go to Delhi from Bangalore. En route, I’d often notice these doctor ads. When I would ask my parents about them, they inadvertently shut me up. As part of my prep, I had to learn about the people from Morena and their lifestyle in the ’90s. [I had to emulate] how they speak and their body language.

I saw it in titbits while dubbing. Archit [Kumar director], Sajid [Ali, director], and Imtiaz have justified the writing.

This is the first time I am playing a negative character. We prepped for three weeks before the shoot. Kabir [Sadanand, director] was part of the anthology, and asked me if I was interested. Since Kabir was in Goa, we did a lot of readings on video calls. It was difficult to find that darkness in me. I had an interesting journey to figure Anjali out and understand her morality.

Still from Tera Chhalaava