As Kohrra Season 2, released recently, opened to rave reviews, especially for its intriguing storytelling, writer Gunjit Chopra feels the spotlight hasn’t changed the reality for screenwriters.

“After every show, you’re back to a blank page. It’s not the same financial security that maybe an actor gets,” he says, adding, “We need to do more for screenwriters so they feel safe to tell their stories. Most writers think, ‘Let me make one story I want, and then one for the producer, so I can pay the rent’.”

Set in the small town in Punjab, Dalerpura, the series follows officers Dhanwant Kaur (Mona Singh) and Amarpal Garundi (Barun Sobti) as they investigate a murder. What begins as a routine case slowly unravels deeper truths about the victim’s past, exposing layers of patriarchy, power, and suppressed guilt.

While the first season was praised for its gritty portrayal of Punjab’s underbelly, Season 2 stands out for its deeper emotional resonance and more character-driven storytelling.

The emotional realism that defined both seasons, the screenwriter who also wrote the show Pataal Lok says, came from looking outward. Comparing how thrillers are presented in a human way in foreign cinema, Chopra notes, “In India, we either make things larger than life or go into something like Singham (2011), which is on another tangent.”

He adds, “When you make a human drama, you look for humanity in any profession, be it a cop or a businessman. So that was the idea (behind Kohrra).”

To make sure that the show prioritizes human connection, rather than a mere spectacle, the 38-year-old says, “I did deep research, and I spent a lot of time with cops, so I know it’s not an easy job.”

He adds, “In Punjab, one police station covers 60 to 80 villages and one investigating officer is dealing with 70 or 80 cases. That is not human.”

Barun Sobti entered the digital world with Tanhaiyan in 2017, when “OTT ka culture India mein nahin tha”. Cut to today, the actor has already had three web releases in the year so far, including the recent web series Kohrra. The 38-year-old, who was a known face on television around 2011 and had two cinematic releases, didn’t take much work until Tanhaiyan to prepare for the anticipated OTT boom.

“I didn’t do much work for some time before 2017. When the digital revolution happened in the US, I consumed a lot of content from the West. It was like a training ground for me, as I was certain that a digital revolution would happen in India too,” says the actor. In a chat with us, he opens up about his journey on the digital medium so far. Excerpts:

I shot for five projects in two years. At one point, I was shooting for three shows simultaneously. So yes, I knew I’d have a flurry of projects coming out one after the other. I also knew that Asur 2, Badtameez Dil and Kohrra would do well.

Asur 2 felt like homecoming because I had already got into the skin of the character in the first season. Whereas, for Badtameez Dil, I did workshops, as the character was quite layered. But the preparation for Kohrra was most extensive. I did a lot of workshops in Punjab to get into the skin of my character [a cop], Amarpal Garundi.

Aisa nahin hai ki OTT projects ko shoot karne ke liye aapko bahut time milta hai. The first scene that you shoot may not be the first scene of the show. So you have to dive in immediately. The great thing about web is that it gives the characters time to be etched out well in terms of writing. As an actor, if you know how the character is shaping up at the very outset, you put your heart into it.

We have just started understanding the value of the long format content. As an actor, you don’t feel the monotony as you get to do five different kinds of projects over two years. Also, the writers get so much time to write. For instance, writer Gunjit Chopra researched for Kohrra in Punjab for so long that whenever I asked him a question about my character, I got such valid answers that I didn’t have to go back to him with more queries.

If a performance is good, it’s impossible for it to go unnoticed. As far as stars exploring the medium is concerned, the way audiences embrace a show plays a huge role. Like in my case, ever since the release of Kohrra, people who usually [just] clicked pictures with me, have started talking to me about the show. I feel this kind of appreciation makes everyone want to explore the medium.

“I’m a non-violent person. I have never even got into a heated argument with anyone,” laughs Sudip Sharma, aware that his screen offerings might suggest otherwise. But then, it takes a calm mind to understand the complex subject of violence, its roots, and different manifestations.

After Paatal Lok (2020), Kohrra is creator-writer Sharma’s latest attempt to examine the dark side of humans. “We all carry that darkness inside us as individuals, families and societies. That’s fascinating to explore,” he begins.

The Netflix series sees Suvinder Vicky and Barun Sobti as cops investigating the murder of an NRI groom in Punjab. Under the disguise of a thriller, Kohrra tells a story about love and generational violence. Sharma, who has created the show with Gunjit Chopra and Diggi Sisodia, reveals that love was indeed its genesis.

“The starting point was the title of one of Charles Bukowski’s poems, Love is a dog from hell. We wanted to do a show about relationships. I was coming off Paatal Lok, which was a procedural. So, I didn’t want to do another. But when Gunjit and Diggi pitched the idea, I felt there was an opportunity to explore relationships and how love can be either uplifting or soul-crushing.”

When it came to casting, Sharma knew it was time to work with that actor who had left a lasting impression on him with his bit roles in Udta Punjab (2016) and Paatal Lok. Enter Vicky. “He had one scene in Paatal Lok. But he was so good in that scene that I knew I wanted to work with him again. When we started writing Kohrra, I knew he was the right choice for Balbir Singh. None of his breakthrough work like CAT [2022] and Meel Patthar [2020] had come out then.”

While Kohrra has opened to unanimous praise, Sharma has moved on to the second season of Paatal Lok, which is due next year. So, has he given up on theatrical offerings in favour of long-format stories? Something like that, says Sharma, whose last theatrical venture was Laal Kaptaan (2019), in which he served as a dialogue writer. Reason—“We stopped making films that interested people like me,” he says. 

“No one wants to make a film like NH10 or Udta Punjab for theatres today. The thought—if it’s theatrical, it has to be entertaining and understood by all—basically means it has to be dumbed down. They want you to write the kind of films that are getting made. I don’t even watch those films. How can I make them?”