At the core of Kohrra is the dysfunctional relationship between a father and a daughter. Balbir Singh, played by Suvinder Vicky, and Nimrat Kaur, played by Harleen Sethi, are angry at each other. Where the father thinks their daughter is going wayward, the daughter resents the manner in which she was raised. The relationship needs work, but the performances are pitch perfect. We are speaking to the two on Zoom on a particularly rainy Mumbai day—Sethi is at her home in Andheri, and Vicky is joining in from Punjab.

And that’s the main difference: While Sethi is a Sikhni born and brought up in Mumbai (her ancestors are from Pakistan), Vicky is a Punjabi munda born in Sirsa.

“I didn’t even know how to speak in Punjabi,” says Sethi, “and at one point in the show, I have a long monologue in the language. But Suvinder paji helped me.”

She now seems at ease with the language, asking Vicky when he will be back so that they can meet up. “Tussi toh star ban gaye ho!” she says. Vicky, shy, laughs: “Tu bhi toh! I will be back soon. And of course, we have to meet. But Harleen impressed me. She got a Punjabi tattoo that says ‘Nirbhau Nirvair (without fear, without hate)’, and I knew she had committed herself to the process. She would come up to us after every line, ‘I said it right?’”

Sethi grew up in Andheri West, Mumbai, dancing as part of choreographer Ashley Lobo’s troupe; Vicky grew up doing theatre at Punjab University. Sethi made good with leads in shows such as Broken but Beautiful, and Vicky has done multiple movies (2016’s Udta Punjab) and shows like CAT, in which too he played a Sikh cop. He has been quoted by many reports as saying that “it’s better that success came to him late rather than never”.

But for both, the opportunity to be in Kohrra gave rise to different kinds of emotions. “I was too excited when this role came by,” says Sethi. “I had to go to Punjab and speak Punjabi. It was a challenge and a different kind of role. Also, it was a character role, not lead. There were some apprehensions, but I knew it was going to be great. The industry does stereotype you—so I really wish that doesn’t happen with us.”

For Vicky, who calls the success of Kohrra “a balle balle feeling—Punjabi style”, the role was just another one he needed to take up. “If people want to keep casting me as a Sikh cop again and again, well, that’s the way it is,” he shrugs.

“I can only say no if I have another choice in front of me. But that’s not the case. This is it. So I take what I get. At least now, people are saying ‘Paaji, you look great in pagdi’, ‘Paaji, we saw your other show, CAT, also!’”

Ask whether having Punjab as the background has contributed to the show’s success, and Vicky says it’s the story that’s the true star. “It could have been set in Haryana also,” he says. “Then the language would have changed. The rest would have remained the same—down to the fields. It’s the story that’s got the good stuff and that’s what made this show a hit. But, yes, people have appreciated the language—they like the sound of Punjabi. It’s so sweet.”

Randeep Hooda met with an accident last month after he fainted while riding a horse, which led to a nasty fall. The actor was rushed to a hospital and was admitted for a few days. He injured his knee severely due to the fall. During the process of recuperating, he took to penning short stories. In an exclusive interview with Bombay Times, the actor opens up on his health, healing, and road to recovery. Excerpts:

It was because of weakness resulting from staying underweight for too long. I blacked out, and because of almost no muscles (due to weight loss), the knee got dislocated, damaging all the ligaments. I also had a small fracture.

Family and friends have been there for me. I also have great support from my doctors, who are guiding me in the whole recovery process. But being an active person who loves working, riding horses and exploring jungles, staying at home almost tied to the bed or the chair has been the most difficult part.

As I was already playing a writer in Swatantra Veer Savarkar saab’s biopic, writing short stories helped engage my mind positively. The fear of gaining too much weight due to revenge eating was a great source of worry, but I managed to keep that at bay with the help of my trainer.

The only way I have learnt to work and enjoy my work is by pushing the boundaries. The opportunities that the process gives to experience more in life, gives me immense joy. However, the shooting of this movie (SwatantryaVeer Savarkar) got delayed and I had to stay underweight for too many months and that had its consequences. Every passing year affects your metabolism, and most importantly, your resolve to attempt drastic body transformations and stick to it. There are times when one wonders if it’s even worth it. The decision on your effort’s worthiness is up to people, so I am doing it. When it feels like I’ve had enough, I’ll quit it completely. That’s highly unlikely, though.

The knee injury is just the tip of an iceberg which I can share with people. The mental stress of doing this for such a prolonged period creates issues that are far worse than the physicality and harder to share. It’s probably harder on the ones around you.

You must get back on the horse again if you fall off it. It’s the same with life and film roles. I have to buckle up (the knee) and lose weight again for the continuity in the film and have a go at it all over again. I am glad that I got to do a Sikh character in the series CAT and that the audience at large could relate to it. This is a year of varied projects, and I will be donning more hats than just that of an actor. I need my legs healed to carry out the responsibilities well.

In the world of acting, there is no better school than the set, especially if you are hobnobbing with the versatile Randeep Hooda. For Danish Sood, who began his career with smaller roles in A Suitable Boy, Hostages, and The Fame Game, the golden opportunity came when he was offered a pivotal role in the Netflix crime thriller, CAT.

Playing sibling to Hooda’s character, Sood studied his co-star’s acting process with the hope to emulate the learning in his next. “Randeep’s character goes through a transformation in each episode. From being subdued and submissive, he becomes aggressive. So, in every episode, he [changed] his body language, posture, hand gestures, and mannerisms,” says Sood, who claims to have found a brother in Hooda as they sat through hours of discussions on the craft and navigating the industry.

The actor confesses that while there was a lot to learn, he was intimidated by Hooda. “As much as he is a great actor, he is a little scary to be around. I wanted my performance to be at par with him [so], he would improvise and that helped me open up as an actor,” he explains, adding that Hooda advised him to pick projects where the weight of a role mattered more than the scale of the film.

When narrating a true story, staying authentic to the subject is one of the director’s biggest responsibilities. For first-time director Balwinder Singh Janjua, the responsibility was only compounded as he told the story of Punjab in the ’80s and ’90s that was threatened by insurgency and drugs. Fortunately, he found a like-minded artiste in Randeep Hooda. As they present the Netflix series, 'CAT', the actor-director duo give us a low-down on the challenges of tackling a real-life subject.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

Singh: CATS are undercover informants for the cops. It was relevant back in the day, and was used by cops in the US and Russia. Hailing from Punjab, I have witnessed these [episodes] first-hand, and [always] felt that I must share this story. I caught up with a few people who were CATs [earlier]. My co-writers Jimmy [Singh], Rupinder [Chahal], Anil [Rodhan] and I created a story of two brothers and tried to showcase the problems of that era. It is fictionalised, but set against true events.

Hooda: I am from Haryana, which used to be Punjab till 1964. I have a deep connection with my land that I never lost, in spite of being in glitzy Mumbai for 22 years. So, that was part of the appeal. Besides that, it was an intriguing script that pans two timelines. The two big problems faced by Punjab since the Partition have been insurgency and drugs. To have these dramatic fictional characters against that backdrop was interesting.

Singh: I think I am a born director. This is my second film as a director. If you are a writer-director, it [becomes] easier. Even when you write, you keep the direction in mind. The thing I find fascinating as a director is the opportunity to set the tone of the show, to create the same mood that I discovered during writing. Then I will look at performances, casting. The challenges for me were to show Punjab of the ’80s and ’90s. I had to find such locations [that have the old-world charm]. Back then, cars were different; people travelled by scooters or bicycles. The villages had kachcha houses.

Hooda: I believe writing is the most enriching experience, the rest is execution.

Hooda: I never felt, even for a moment, any sense of apprehension, or conflict or that I was forced to do something that doesn’t suit the character. [As an actor], that is a big deal. He said earlier he was born to be a director. I back that thought because he is undoubtedly a talented writer-director, but he is also a good manager. I am telling you because I am attempting it myself. Direction is a far tougher job than acting.

Singh: You are a journalist. Tell me, was there a drug problem or not? The people [we] are trying to tell the story to, are aware that drugs are an issue. I am from Punjab, and I have seen those broken families who were affected by it. Some people have lost close to six sons to drugs, leaving behind a grieving mother. Most of our stories originate from the things that happen in society. As a creator-writer, it is my job to connect with the story and tell it convincingly. I cannot talk about people who create controversies, or deny that Punjab is plagued with drugs. Our story is backed by proper research. We have tried to say it with as much honesty as possible.

OTT has, undoubtedly, emerged as a medium for artistes and makers to experiment — something that films may not always allow. Actor Randeep Hooda, however, says he does not depend on the web space for creative satisfaction. “I am not looking for an acting opportunity from any OTT platform. I have got enough [on my plate]. I just do the kind of work that I feel like doing. So, in that sense it does not make any difference to me,” says the actor, who is soon making his web series debut with spy thriller CAT.

That being said, the Sarbjit (2016) actor does acknowledge that the digital shift, triggered especially during the Coronavirus pandemic, has led to a change in people’s taste in terms of content. “Because of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, people had the time and wavelength to watch a lot more content other than just Bollywood. This opened their eyes to a new, deeper and more touching cinema, which is not just glitz and gloss. OTT offered them something beyond the regular stuff and broke the chain, and that chain is being mended now,” says Hooda, adding that this nowhere means that the audiences have stopped going to theatres. “They haven’t turned a blind eye to it. They just want more,” he notes.

Talking about his upcoming web series, Hooda is hopeful that it will be on par with the popular crime drama series Narcos in terms of quality. “It’s a local story from the land of Punjab. And because we have gone local with the script of this show, I am pretty sure we are going to go global (in terms of reach). This is going to be one of those shows that will be watched not only within the country but outside of it as well, with the same excitement, intrigue and appreciation that we see for other international shows. It could be like the Narcos of India,” he says.

The teaser showed Hooda playing an intense character of a Sikh man, who is working as an undercover spy. Stating that every role requires “effort, study, absorption and a sense of bringing it alive within oneself”, the actor admits this particular character had its own set of challenges. “The screenplay of the show put my character in traumatizing and precarious situations, but as an actor, you try to believe in it as much as possible. Also, imbibing the spirit of a Sikh — who is not really a gun-toting, bhangra-doing person as depicted in Bollywood films — is not easy,” concludes the actor, who himself hails from a small town, Rohtak in Haryana, and has been living in Mumbai for more than 22 years.