Nikita Dutta has been a history buff since childhood. So, when Ram Madhvani’s The Waking Of A Nation came her way, she knew she had to be part of it. Even when the filmmaker mentioned the ‘no grooming clause’ for the character, she agreed without hesitation. The Waking Of A Nation revolves around the Hunter Commission, which is an investigation of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The actor, who previously starred in Ek Duje Ke Vaaste (2016), Gold (2018), Kabir Singh (2019), The Big Bull (2021), and Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022), among other things, discusses the privilege of working in a Madhvani show and why it features one of the “strongest characters” she has ever played. Edited excerpts from the interview.

I was called for this show while attending yoga school. I had to audition over the phone, which I had always believed never worked because there was no brief. I initially resisted, as the scene was one of the toughest in the show. But they insisted, so I recorded it without much thought. A week later, they called me. When I visited the office, Ram sir explained his 360-degree shooting style—no rehearsals, no lighting, no marks. He also asked if I was okay giving up vanity completely for the 1919 setting. I immediately agreed. I completed my yoga school and was vacationing in the Maldives when I got the call welcoming me on board.

When we started workshops, I realized how much vanity I had to abandon. While I had no issue with it, living without waxing or make-up for three months was more challenging than expected. However, in front of the camera or during workshops, I felt free and liberated. It gave me a new sense of independence and allowed me to experiment.

The workshops focused on two aspects: getting comfortable with the 360-degree shooting style and understanding the period’s [nuances]. We did extensive improvisations and worked on speech and reactions from that era. So they made us go through many workshops. That’s why we were able to pull it off.  We were properly cooked by the time we came on set.

I, of course, have read about it because I am quite a history buff. The period of India’s independence struggle is something I’ve always been very fascinated with. What I did realize is that there are a lot of people who don’t know about this chapter of history. Of course, we all know about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but we do not know what happened before and after it. The Waking Of A Nation is inspired by all those historical events, while we have also fictionalized it a bit. I remember Ram sir had gifted us a book when we just started with our workshops and it had a lot of first-hand testimonies of people who have been a victim or have lost their relatives in the massacre. That was hard-hitting.

In the show, I run a printing press with my friend Albaksh [played by Sahil Mehta]. We shot in an actual 1919 printing press with fully functional machines. Witnessing how newspapers were printed—like small alphabets are put together on a slate and how an article comes together and the amount of strength you had to apply on it to print—was fascinating.

I think he’s one of the finest filmmakers I have worked with. He is one of the nicest persons apart from being a great filmmaker. There is, of course, his process of shooting, which is widely discussed, but there is so much more than that. Not many filmmakers give a lot of substance and priority to their women characters, but if you see his body of work—from Neerja [2016] to Aarya—you will see the women playing [strong characters]. You don’t just see Sonam [Kapoor], but also notice Shabana [Azmi] ma’am’s character standing out. He says he gets his inspiration from the women around him because he’s surrounded by strong women, from his wife to his mother. That reflects not just in front of the camera, but even off it. This entire show has been shot by four women cinematographers. They have been holding those heavy cameras on their shoulders and shooting. There is no concept of trolleys in his world of filmmaking. He took care of all the basics on set, even crew members. He made sure we had clean toilets exclusively for the women in all sorts of locations that we’ve shot.

She is a strong, bold, and fierce woman—not in the stereotypical loud Punjabi way. He’s chosen to show me as a woman who has a voice, who worked back in the day, and as someone who can take control of situations within her capabilities. As an actor, it’s not every day that you get to play characters like this. It has been a privilege to be part of his filmmaking world. This is probably one of the strongest characters I’ve portrayed on screen in my life.

Making a historical drama is a big responsibility. Bigger even, when the subject is one of the bloodiest chapters of Indian history. Creator Ram Madhvani is aware of the responsibility he is shouldering as he makes The Waking Of A Nation, a six-part series centred on the Hunter Commission that was established in October 1919 to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The creator-director, however, points out that his series is historical fiction.

“There were five British and three Indians in the Hunter Commission. The Indians walked out, saying that what they called investigation was, in fact, white-washing. So, this series looks at that investigation,” he starts, when we get on a call.

“There is this term called historical fiction. If you go into a bookshop, there will be a whole range of books [under the genre of] historical fiction. I suppose they are inspired by true events. This is a story [told] from our characters’ point of view.”

Researching a historical subject can be strenuous. More importantly, it can be a tricky affair. Madhvani agrees, noting that a critical factor in the genre is the lens you view the story from. He explains, “There are so many versions of [history]. Our tale is, in some ways, fictional. But I read and did my due diligence. I’m interested in that part of our colonial past. Many years ago, I did a short film called This Bloody Line, which was about Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The fact that he drew a line in one month and divided this country, when he had never been to India before, was fascinating to me.”

“I’m interested in how there has been a cultural colonization. So many things have been, in some ways, stolen from us. The Waking of a Nation is really about racism and prejudice,” says Madhvani of the Sony LIV series—starring Carl Wharton and Krishnakant Singh Bundela—that is currently in post-production.

From Neerja (2016) to Aarya and now, The Waking of a Nation, regardless of the genre his stories belong to, he says a common thread runs through them all. “I’m always figuring out how to do stories that have some kind of philosophy and spirituality in them. The first season of Aarya had the Bhagavad Gita. I used Sanskrit shlokas. That comes from my father and the books that surrounded me, and from my father-in-law, who is a freedom fighter and a Sanskrit scholar. So, The Waking of a Nation has the lead character named after my father, and is dedicated to my in-laws.”

Even as the historical offering has him consumed at the moment, one wonders about the fate of Aarya, led by Sushmita Sen. The revenge drama was one of Disney+ Hotstar’s most acclaimed shows, with the first season even earning an International Emmy nomination. Amid the platform’s merger with Jio, has he been pursued to bring out the next season of Aarya?

“Right now, because of the merger, we have to decide when Aarya is landing. I think people want to see it, and we would like to make more [seasons].  We have two more seasons. So, we will see whether that happens. That show changed me. It made me realize the scope of my job and the joy of long-format storytelling.”

He has portrayed a cop one too many times, but Vikas Kumar has always managed to play them differently. As the actor steps into the role of ACP Khan again for the second part of Aarya season 3, he credits the show’s writing for making his character “more human and emotional”. In conversation with mid-day, Kumar looks back on his acting journey, how filmmaker Ram Madhvani humanized his character in the Disney+ Hotstar show and how the part is closer to his real-life persona. Edited excerpts from the interview.

I came to Mumbai looking for work as an actor. Whoever had seen me act thought that my voice and dialogue delivery are my forte. One day, my roommate Honey Trehan, who is now a director, was sitting with an assistant casting director [working on a] Hollywood film being shot in India. They wanted somebody to ensure that the Indian actors speak British English well. So, he recommended me to the line producer. While I waited for the right acting projects to come my way, I had to do something to stay busy and earn money. Dialect coaching gave me a chance to be part of the film industry. Now, I have a company called Strictly Speaking, where my wife is also a trainer.

Never. People on the outside think that this would help me build contacts, but I’ve never looked at it as a way of finding roles. Dialogue coaching has allowed me to choose my acting assignments and do only what I really want to do.

My journey has been slow yet steady. Things looked promising after Khotey Sikkey because [I was] made to believe that there will be regular work and Khotey Sikkey was supposed to have a second season. But these shows by YRF were way ahead of their time. If something like that had happened today, it would’ve been very [successful].

The first season had its own novelty; it was fresh for the viewers and the actors to explore. In season two or three, the fear is that you can get complacent. You have to challenge yourself and see how you can do things differently within the character’s parameters. Ram also does workshops to push you. Some people liked season two more than season one; we’ve got all kinds of reactions.

I’ve refused many cop roles because they didn’t excite me or didn’t have a proper journey character-wise. The first [factor is] the writing. That’s why you take up a show like Aarya because it’s not your regular cop. Plus, Ram was directing it and it was Sushmita Sen’s comeback. Ram and the other directors [wanted me] to make ACP Khan more human and emotional, not someone who carries his authority on his shoulders. He carries enough authority when he is conducting raids, but he is also human enough to understand what Aarya as a woman may be going through. His relationship track made it a wholesome character.

Now, he comes with even more angst and drive to catch Aarya and the Russians, and get rid of the entire drug racket. This is probably the closest to how I am in real life, and Ram wanted it that way. Similarly, Sushmita is exactly like Aarya with her kids. Ram tries to capture the real you. With Ram, there is no action and cut; you go live your scene and he will capture it. Being yourself is the toughest thing to do.

If you were to play word-association, probably anywhere in the sub-continent, the word that would come immediately with Miss Universe is: Sushmita Sen.

Twenty-nine women on the planet have been crowned since her. Yet, as we introduce her in this conversation to a live audience, Miss Universe rightly shows up on top. Do you ever stop being Miss Universe?

“So glad you asked this,” she says. In Namibia, the following year, when the crown passed on to Miss USA, at the party in the coronation hall, Martin Brooks, then president of the organization joked that they’ll fire her the next morning. She said, “No, I shall resign tomorrow morning.” She was 19.

When the name-plate was placed on her table, it didn’t say “Former Miss Universe” as originally designated. It said Miss Universe, 1994, which is the year she dedicated to the title she won in Manila, Philippines. That she considers her second home after our own, i.e. India.

Consider a recent talk-show she was on with Jessica Soho, the ‘Oprah Winfrey’ of Philippines. On the episode, during the interview, Soho brought over several Philippine children from different islands, all of them named Sushmita: “These were 22-year-old girls: Sushmita Chagalung Mang, sometimes, Sushmita Sen Chagalung Mang…!” Incredible.

So, yes, whether others do or not, Sen remains Miss Universe, forever, and a crown she wears poised to perfection still. And that, strangely enough, bothered her daughter Alisah, 8, when she asked her mother, once, why there was so much paparazzi always surrounding her.

She told her child, hey, that’s because I’m kinda famous! “But, why,” the girl asked. “Because, you know, Miss Universe, and I act…”

Alisah semi-taunted her, instead, “But that was a long time ago, mom!”

The coin dropped for Sen. Around 2010, Sen had decided to take a break from films altogether. Something her manager and friends in the movie industry then, termed a “hara-kiri,” given the shelf-life attributed to female stars in Bollywood, anyway.

But her reasons were quite clear. If you scroll up her filmography on IMDb leading up to it: films titled Zindaggi Rocks, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Karma Confession And Holi, Do Knot Disturb, Dulha Mil Gaya… Her last film, before the sabbatical, and the reason for it, was No Problem (2010). Which is when she said, “No!” There is a problem here!

Sen recalls, “You get bored, if you are growing neither as an actor nor as a person. You need to experience/observe life in order to reflect art. Also, I had become a mother again, to a one-month-old.”

“I had adopted my first child, Renee, when she was six months old. But there’s a big difference between raising a one-month and a six-month baby. That’s when I thought to myself—I can’t leave her with a nanny to do something I don’t even like!”

As happens with showbiz—“jo dikhta hai wahi bikta hai”—that break continued indefinitely, as the “scripts offered started to dry up too.” The daughter-mother exchange was a turning point of sorts, it seems. As Sen puts it, that’s when she realized her daughter had grown up as well, with a mind of her own, “telling her off.”

What did she do? What most people with paps circling them may not. That is, pick up the phone, call up the content bosses of the top three OTT platforms in India, namely, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix.

And introduce herself, “Hi, my name is Sushmita Sen. I’m an actor, used to be one anyway. I’d like to come back to work, and I need help, because I haven’t worked in eight years.”

What might have been more baffling, for the OTT bosses, is the number of conditions she flagged, given that she’d been without a job for almost a decade: “I wanted them to know I am hungry. And I had been watching content on OTT and loving it, while Hindi cinema, with women, operated along the same lines still.”

“I told them: I want workshops. I want to learn. I want to unlearn. And I want to headline a show. I want responsibility. I don’t want to be just a character. I need a conflict so powerful that it is author backed. Their jaws dropped.”

The underlining point being something she’s followed all along: “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for. You just don’t get it [otherwise].”  

She rejected multiple scripts that obviously didn’t meet all the conditions. Until Saugata Mukherjee, with Disney+ Hotstar then, currently with Sony LIV, called her back with what he suggested was an offer she couldn’t refuse. He told her nothing else.

In true Godfather style, only few hours later, she was with director Ram Madhvani, who she was pleasantly surprised to meet. He described her role as the “female Michael Corleone.”

Within five minutes, she said yes: “My lawyer Priyanka was making nail marks on my thigh—‘you can’t just do that’!” Sen says what she had learnt from her “first innings [in Bollywood] was not to get carried away by a script. The words to screen require a team.”

This is how, in 2020, we finally saw Sen in Aarya, on screen, after years, doing gymnastics, in the opening scene. We saw her husband in the series, Chandrachur Singh, who’d also been away for so long that some (like me) mistook him for Shashi Tharoor, for a second. “Yeah, I saw those memes,” Sen laughs.

Madhvani’s International Emmy-nominated Aarya is a dark, crackerjack crime thriller, based on the Dutch drama, Penoza, that follows the life of Sen’s eponymous character, as she navigates the world of drug-trade, mafia, murders and revenge, across the rugged terrains of Rajasthan. Aarya is still par for the three-season course.

A better shocker for audiences would’ve been Sen showing up as a transgender lead—playing the activist Gauri Sawant, who went through sex-change, in Taali (on Jio Cinema). You only have to notice Sen in the younger portions of the series, where she’s a young boy with slight stubble, to appreciate the transformation. “That’s when I felt totally beautiful [in my skin],” she says. 

The process presumably must’ve been the same: training, workshop, learn, unlearn. The only criticism likely to come her way for Taali, and something she was prepared for, is usurping a role rightly reserved for a transgender actor, after all. She defends, “Frankly, I wasn’t okay to play the role in Taali, until I knew Gauri Sawant herself wants me to play her.”

“The crew was resistant to get in touch with me [Miss Universe, etc], until Gauri coaxed them into it. She told them, I want my life to be beautiful. It has been spelt out to be ugly for far too long.” Sen declares she may have actually underplayed Sawant in the part: “She’s way too spit-fire strong in actual life!”

• • •

While there are several Sushmitas named after Sen, born around the mid ’90s, in Philippines, and in India too—a better name for her might well be Alice. And I don’t mean this in the way of the song, ‘Who the f*** is Alice!’ But, of course, the book, Alice in Wonderland. 

Think about it. Enough female actors, in particular, during interviews, you’ll observe, say they never actually wanted to be actors. Which is euphemism for how they never chased fame. It’s only true for Sen, in all honesty. She never even did inter-school plays, growing up.

Shortly after winning the Miss Universe title, she built a home and life in Los Angeles—“that’s where my financial independence was”—for three years.

She had a career in modelling sorted, perhaps looking at entrepreneurship thereafter. It was while she was visiting her parents in Delhi during the time that filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt called her to meet, since he happened to be in Delhi too. She told him over the phone, “If it’s for a role, I’m not interested. I can’t lie. It’ll show on camera.”

This, one can vouch for, even during this conversation. Between 2010-2012, during her acting sabbatical, Sen ran the Miss Universe franchise from India, then owned by Donald Trump. She adds, “This didn’t make it easy or fun. I enjoyed sending girls from India to compete for the pageant, but I didn’t like the people I was working with, so I quit.” 

On Trump, she says, “There are some people who leave an impression, not necessarily because of their achievements or power. Just for the people that they are. He is not one of them.” 

Okay, we digress. In the mid ’90s, Bhatt persisted for coffee, nonetheless. They met and he told her a few things flatly, “You don’t have to act. You have to play yourself, that is Sushmita Sen. Also, when did I say you’re a good actor, I’m a damn good director.” So Bhatt-like!

The film he had in mind was about a Miss Universe getting stalked, which became Dastak (1996), a big-budget production, shot in Seychelles, Switzerland… It was the only film Sen was ever going to act in. 

Here, of course, no dialogue coaches, workshops, acting instructor—Sen was, right away, called in for the film’s mahurat. She recalls, “I had mugged up my lines. I came out of the [vanity] van, and there were 40 media persons lined up for the shot. Bhatt Saab said, ‘Let them watch. It’s after all Miss Universe’s mahurat’. Before I was to give my shot, he changed my entire scene.”

“It became about a woman dealing with a man lunching at a morgue, from whom she has to collect a dead body. I was 22. No acting experience. For two years, I’d been professionally trained to be a lady. Here, I was to show aggression, that I don’t understand, throwing my earrings at the morgue man. I wasn’t getting it right. Bhatt Saab began to tell [brother-partner] Mukesh, ‘Yeh kisko leke aaye ho? She doesn’t know anything!’”

It’s at this point Sen broke. She told Bhatt off: “I told you I can’t act. I’m done. You can’t insult me, in front of all these people. There was a showdown.” Bhatt retorted, “That’s the anger [I was looking for]. Now show it in the film’. This is where Bhatt Saab is Bhatt Saab.” 

The entire posse of media folk around her were actually ‘junior artistes’, brought in, holding cameras, pretending to be press!

Dastak, Sen says, got almost entirely shot with her first takes, given how raw she was, as a performer, and how she might feel spent/exhausted, with multiple dabs at the same scene. 

The ’90s, of course, were another time, even as they were times that were changing. Looking back, Sen argues, “Thank God for the world that existed back then—I would’ve never been an actor by now.” 

What followed Dastak is Alice in Bombay/Bollywood, where everyone, biggest names onwards, knew her already, from her pageant stint. A story I had heard about Sen, which only she can verify is if she first met Amitabh Bachchan in the men’s loo. Dying to pee and no place to go, she walked into the men’s loo, and there was Bachchan saying hi to her… True story? Apparently not.

“This could’ve happened with [me and] someone else. It’s possible. Lucky for whoever saw me in the men’s room. But if it was Mr Bachchan, I’d remember!” 

For all its usual highs and lows, Sen did become a legit Bollywood star. The acting experience, or lack thereof, didn’t count for much. What did, in some sense, if you wish to place her in the pantheon is how many Bengali actors become Bollywood heroines. 

As in, somehow the male equivalent of Sen, right from Rakhee, Sharmila Tagore, down to Kajol, Rani Mukerji etc, are usually Kapoors or Khans. Rather than male Bengali leads. For the heck of a conversation, I ask her why that is so. She sighs, “It’s an interesting thought. But with due respect to Bengali men, Bengali women are something else!” Point taken.

The other thing that Sen has in common with a full constellation of female Bollywood stars is the number of them who come from defence services’ backgrounds. Their parents having served in the forces—from Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Aishwarya Rai, Neha Dhupia, Gul Panag… 

You lose count, really. And this is equally true for women in film crews you bump into often. Sen’s dad served in the Indian Air Force.

She has clearly thought about this phenomenon before: “I think if you’re going to be an outsider [in any industry], it helps to be raised with certain qualities that services’ kids have. Our fathers get posted to a new location every three years, which means everything changes for you—your uncle-aunties, friends, school… This makes you grounded as a person, adapting to new places.”

The other thing Army daughters enjoy, I reckon, growing up in closed cantonments, is a sense of freedom—that isn’t as common among girls, living in the towns/cities right outside the gated, services’ establishments. Sen argues, “On the other hand, we grow up over-protected, but that also makes us fearless.”

Between class IX to XII, Sen went to Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute (AFGJI) in New Delhi. It’s a school I’m familiar with, having been to The Air Force School, next-door, around the same time. 

A shout-out is warranted, only because AFGJI is a unique kinda school, for classes merging, wherein airmen’s kids study along with officers’ and civilian’s children. But more so, the school has an inclusive section dedicated to special children, struggling with certain mental faculties. 

Sen is happy I bring this up, since it did influence her personality at an early age: “The beauty of interacting with special children in that school was that you got graded for participating in competitions, where you help the other child win, in order to win yourself. 

“We got graded 25/100 for just that. So, for instance, you had to push the wheelchair in a run, and you lost, if both of you did. It takes the approach that we aren’t different from each other. Only, that I can’t move forward [in society], unless all of us do.”

After school, Sen had her eyes set on an economics degree from St Stephen’s College. While in line for admissions, realizing that she hadn’t made the percentage cut-off, heartbroken, she headed off to a nightclub the same evening. It’s what happened on that night, that she never had to go to college, ever. 

She remembers, “There was a gentleman at the nightclub named Ranjan Bakshi, looking at me. He claimed to be from The Times of India, and wanted me to apply for Miss India. You know how it is, in Delhi…”

Yes, we all do. Sensing a creepy uncle-type, Sen’s friends gave her cover, fobbing off the old gent. But her group of friends returned soon after, with the same man, who had The Times of India business card, asking to be taken more seriously. 

This is how she landed at the Miss India contest. There was also the parental block before that. Her father was upset. He had IAS aspirations for his daughter. He didn’t speak to her for some time. 

Even when she had entered Miss India, she had to convince him about the swim-suit round: “I can’t participate in the contest, and not do the swim-suit round, which is part of it. I told him, baba, I have to wear a swimsuit. But I promise you, I will add respect to it. It will not be ‘chhablami’ [crass].”

Sen adds, “When I won Miss India—for my dad, being a defence person, it was me representing India. He bawled his lungs out. I had given him the biggest moment, being his daughter.”  

This is the point in the interview Sen is in tears herself; asking for tissue. She came good, even further, for her father, when she was awarded an honorary D.Litt by NR Narayana Murthy, in Kolkata, many years later. She was unwell. Her dad went to receive the degree, on her behalf. So much for never entering college.

• • •

The reason Sen will be Miss Universe for Indians, foremost, forever, is also her stardom belongs to a time when mass culture itself was so monocultural. 

We followed a handful of celebs. Information on them was scarce. Mystique, supreme. There developed a para-social relationship with the star. Wherein we formed our own opinions on them based on the little we know. And we took immense pleasure in it. 

As a kid, when Sen won the global title, I confess to her, we’d gossiped about how she had dumped her boyfriend right after. Feeling sad for the boy we knew nothing about. Rajan, something? “Rajat Tara,” she reminds us. Of course!

“I was the best-man at his wedding in Belgrade,” Sen says, recalling how he remains her BFF still: “I was so fortunate to have him as my first boyfriend. You don’t dump a guy like that. You could outgrow.” That she’s famous and single (as in unmarried) since she was 18—I also wonder if normal dating has been difficult for her.

Sen says hiding who you’re dating is more tiresome: “Takes away too much energy. There are times in my life, when I’ve wanted to give respect to a relationship [by being open about it] and I have, without waiting [for the other person to].”

Which brings me to the X/Twitter post on her relationship with former IPL boss Lalit Modi that blew up social media in 2022. Sen rightly asks me to check my facts. She put out no such post herself (Modi did). 

What she did was respond to the madness on Instagram: “I just posted for how silence must not be misconstrued with weakness. I wanted people to know that I was laughing. And got done with it.”

“You can’t be 47, in the public eye for 30 years, and be afraid of the public. You have a relationship with them. They can get strained sometimes, as with all relationships. But that’s okay. I was looking at memes calling me gold-digger, but monetizing the same content, online. Also, let’s get the facts straight. I don’t even like gold. I like diamonds!” 

Okay, switching gears to something more serious: “Oh, that wasn’t serious,” Sen chides. Obviously not. Her relationships are not what we know her for. 

In many ways, Sen is the female equivalent of Shah Rukh Khan. And I don’t mean SRK in 2023, with two blockbusters under his belt. But all the years before it as well, wherein people never lost the personal connect with the star, regardless of hits/flops. 

As with Sen, who’s equally articulate, can charm the pants off you, and while she hadn’t been onscreen for nearly a decade— people remained interested in what she said, and more so, what she did. In terms of life’s choices. 

Take the case of her two children, Renee, 24, Alisah, 18. Both of whom she fought in the court to gain her right to adopt them as a single mother. 

The impact that must’ve had on millions of Indians, similarly looking to be parents, but not necessarily out of wedlock. And that you couldn’t be a “fertile, single woman,” and adopt a child at all: “The last such person to do that [before me] was a 29-year-old divorcee. And it wasn’t me alone, who won the court case. It was worth the fight. There were so many of us [in the same situation]. Even when we won the court case, and I was 24—once I brought my [adopted] child home, there was problem at the passport office. They refused to leave the line on who’s the father, blank.”

“I had to go back to the judge, who issued the letter to the passport office stating that a refusal to do this would be contempt of court. What happiness, we are jumping timelines!”

A decade later, she knocked on the Supreme Court, because the laws didn’t allow you to adopt a girl child, twice. Which is strange: “At the orphanage, there are no boys. Even if there are a few, they get adopted immediately. There are parents who have already adopted, but they can’t bring another baby girl. That defeats the purpose.”

“It took us 10 years to win that case. We won on November 17. On November 19, which is my birthday, my [second] daughter came home. It’s as if she was waiting for this, to be born. Of course, you can say ‘not applicable’ to a father’s name in [her government] documents as well!”

It’s an empty nest for her now, as Sen puts it: “Both my children have now moved into their own lives. I’m learning to be jobless [on that front]!” Which explains her changing priorities, she suggests. Only, in July, 2022, she suffered a massive heart attack, which is becoming inexplicably common at middle-age, lately. 

Sen already has a family history of a heart condition—a reason both she and her brother (Rajeev) get medically examined, regularly. She was “hyper-active, shooting” for the third season of Aarya.

Sen says, “This was all of a sudden. I had just been checked. It couldn’t be the heart. But I had a 95 per cent blockage in my artery. In the 45 minutes of that episode, the last 15 minutes of which I was running parallel between life and death, I just knew that God has plans for me.”

“Miraculously, the arteries opened up for the blood to pass through. The doctor was laughing with me while putting stents on the operating table. It’s like a new lease of life. I finish my 47th year, with so much that has happened.”

Sen turns 48 on Nov 19, 2023, a day after this is published.

The absence of box-office numbers makes OTT the playground for creative storytelling. Ram Madhvani, whose Aarya 3 dropped online recently, however, says the first weekend of release is as crucial on OTT as it is on the big screen.

“Numbers are at play in OTT as well. These numbers have made Aarya 2 and 3 possible. Return of investment is important in any art form. By Monday, I’d know if people have watched Aarya or not. In two weeks, I will know if I have the next season. A weekend is an important benchmark,” explains the creator-director. Madhvani, who also co-produces the Sushmita Sen-starrer, says viewership data and the freedom to push boundaries go hand-in-hand.

Aarya was originally supposed to be a film. He is glad that it instead became a Disney+ Hotstar series, and a popular one at that. “It was about a daughter who puts her father in jail. I had questions like, is that a good thing? It took me seven years to understand what to do with the story. But when I understood that it’s about a woman being a daughter, mother, working woman, homemaker, and the moral crises that emerge, I knew how to make it.”

Gratitude—that’s the emotion currently dominating Ram Madhvani’s headspace. The creator-director is grateful not only for being able to take Aarya to the third edition, but also to Sushmita Sen for saying yes to him season on season. “I cannot say yes to her. She is in power, and I am happy she said yes again,” he beams.

The crime drama, also starring Sikandar Kher and Vikas Kumar, is centred on Sen’s titular character who goes from being a homemaker to a don after her husband is killed. The Disney+ Hotstar series had the audience hooked since its first season in 2020, as much for its gripping story as for the leading lady’s confident performance. It’s the latter that Madhvani is particularly happy about—the show, after all, marked Sen’s OTT debut.

“The responsibility [I feel towards] whichever actor I am working with is greater than the series or film I make. So, after the series or film has reached the audience, I spend a lot of time [wondering] whether I can look my actor in the eye and say, ‘I did justice to you.’ Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. With Sushmita, I seem to have succeeded because we are in the third season.”

In Sen, he found a curious actor, an intelligent collaborator, and above all, a person of towering strength. He remembers how the actor suffered a heart attack earlier this year on the sets of Aarya, and overcame the difficult period with her resolute strength.

“I am happy that she is okay. After two weeks, she walked the ramp at a fashion show. That was a statement she sent out to the whole world, which was, ‘I can recover. I will be okay.’ She is a miracle lady. Everybody knows that her energy is incredible.”

Much can be said about Madhvani’s drive too. In a recent interview, writer Anu Singh Choudhary told mid-day that the reason behind Aarya’s success is the director’s relentless pursuit of creative brilliance. Mention it to him, and he laughs, “There should be T-shirts that read, ‘I survived Ram Madhvani.’ I suspect Anu is relentless too. We may get pushed off the mountain, but we will keep climbing it.”

Writer Anu Singh Choudhary is more confident than nervous as the third season of Aarya premières today. Her belief comes from the writers’ room that creator-director Ram Madhvani made for the Sushmita Sen-starrer.

“Ram has an intensive writers’ room. Sometimes, we’d work for 10 hours a day. He is relentless. After every season, I decide that I am never going to work on this [again]. Yet, here I am,” laughs Choudhary, who had Khushboo Agarwal Raj and Amit Raj as co-writers.

Season on season, leading lady Sen only elevates the crime drama that has its roots in the Dutch show, Penoza. Choudhary praises her, saying, “I have been on the set a couple of times since the first season, and to see her transform into the character was amazing. She lifted the material with her strength and confidence. The written words were elevated to a level that the [dialogues] didn’t matter after a while; only her imbibing them did.”

What warms Choudhary’s heart is how the Disney+ Hotstar series, centred on a woman compelled to rule the drug world while protecting her kids fiercely, is embraced by women and men alike.

“Aarya is one of those rare shows that is led by a woman, but has everybody excited. Men watch it with as much involvement. It’s the story of a homemaker, who becomes a don. She is surviving in a man’s world with her head held high, and will kill if need be. For a platform and producers to have the courage to back this story is rare.”

The new year is all about work for Sikandar Kher, who has begun filming the third instalment of Aarya. As the actor joined Sushmita Sen and director Ram Madhvani on the set in Mumbai, he was welcomed by the team with a sweet note that referenced Al Pacino’s iconic lines from Scarface (1983): “The eyes, chico. They never lie.”

The note presumably hints at the impact that Kher made with his brooding act as Daulat, a man of few words.

Kher is naturally thrilled to return to the gritty world of the Disney+ Hotstar offering. “It is great to bring back a character I have lived with for two seasons,” says the actor.

Even though the cast may be intimately familiar with their characters, Madhvani ensured that they were thoroughly prepped before they faced the camera. “We did readings and workshops,” adds Kher.

In the crime drama, his character has had one of the most interesting graphs, going from a loyal bodyguard to the family’s patriarch, to becoming a pillar of support to Sen’s Aarya. He promises there will be surprises in the coming edition.

“Daulat has been evolving in the previous seasons. So, as the story progresses, new layers will be added, not just to my character, but to most of the principal players in the narrative.”

It was in the year 1992, when the then 17-year-old Kajol, still in school, was all set to make her big screen debut with Bekhudi. The actor, who completes three decades in the Hindi film industry this month, is still ruling hearts.

Inevitably overwhelmed, Kajol says, “I didn’t even realize that I was completing 30 years. This is a shocker. Pata nahin chala, 30 saal guzar gaye. I’m overwhelmed by this. It feels like I started (my career) just yesterday. Then I look at my kids and I’m like, ‘Bacche bhi bade ho gaye hain toh time toh paas hua hoga zarur’. I feel grateful that there have been so many people who have given me such wonderful scripts and characters — from (filmmakers) Abbas-Mustan and Karan (Johar) to Adi (Aditya Chopra) and Ajay (Devgn, actor), who was not my husband at that time.”

The 47-year-old will now experiment with the web space and will soon be seen in a digital series. While she confirms the news by saying, “I’m coming on OTT,” she also adds that she can’t “really speak much” about the project.

Interestingly, not many are aware that her web debut could have happened years ago, as filmmaker Ram Madhvani had Kajol in his mind when he was remaking the Dutch thriller Penoza, which was later remade as the web show Aarya with actor Sushmita Sen. Ask her if she has watched the show, and she says, “I did, and I liked the script very much. But it didn’t work out for me at that time.” Was it due to date issues? “There were other reasons for it,” she says.

Kajol is the most recent Bollywood star to receive an invitation to be a part of the Oscars Committee. The actor, who will have voting privileges at the 95th Academy Awards, feels “very grateful” for this opportunity.

Ask if she feels any pressure about the responsibilities that come with it, and she says, “Dekha jayega jab hoga.”

The biggest surprise or ‘dhamaka’ of 2021 has been Kartik Aaryan as Arjun Pathak. The actor wrapped up this year with a bang with Dhamaka, his superhit release. The movie has become a favourite among his fans and critics alike. And after having impressed the audience with this whole new genre, Aaryan promises to deliver even more varied and surprising roles in the coming year.

When Ram (Madhvani, director) sir put his faith in me and gave me this author-backed role of Arjun Pathak, I instantly knew I would put in my blood, sweat, tears and anything that the role demanded to make it happen. It was a conscious decision to step into a different arena, but also a risk that paid off. I was overwhelmed with the love the film received, be it from the audience or critics. The praise and love for my role gave me a huge sense of validation as an actor. Dhamaka’s success has also given me the confidence to explore things outside of my comfort zone and push the envelope. Also, it was my debut on OTT and it has been such a dhamakedaar one that it has made 2021 extra special.

I feel blessed and my heart swells with gratitude that, as an outsider with no connections to the industry, I am now topping big filmmakers’ wish list. I’ve dreamt of being an actor for as long as I can remember, and now I’ve reached a position where I can actually choose the kind of films I’d like to do. And once an actor reaches that stage, one has to double up their hard work. So, today when I see my forthcoming films, be it Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Shehzada, Freddy, Captain India or Sajid (Nadiadwala, filmmaker) sir’s love story, they all belong to different genres, and this makes my journey exciting.

The year 2021 has treated me well. I am safe, healthy and so are my family and loved ones. It has also been a great year professionally, one of risks and rewards. Dhamaka changed the perspective of filmmakers towards me. I hope 2022 is just as kind and rewarding. I can’t wait for audiences and my fans to see me take on different roles, and I hope to have their continued support and love.

Yes, that is something I started thinking about more recently, once I had that opportunity to really choose my projects. I want to expand my boundaries as an actor. I want to play many characters and live different lives. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the kind of roles I have already done, but even in those spaces, I would like to try and do things differently. I think it is very important to reinvent and move with the times. That, to me, is a mark of a great actor.

I think the #KartikPurnima trend really surprised me — fans dedicating a day to you, expressing their love, sharing videos, performing rituals. Even the one fan who kept a fast for me was something that I never expected fans would do. I feel so eternally grateful. Another interesting incident was when a fan showed me a tattoo she got for me — a permanent inking of my name and birth date. Such small gestures by my fans really make me happy and make me think that all my hard work is worth it, as I receive so much love.

Talent can be a patient thing. It doesn’t leave your side, honing itself quietly until the right moment comes its way. For Sushmita Sen, it came 24 years after her Bollywood debut, in the form of Aarya. If the first season made people rediscover Sen’s acting prowess, the latest instalment has proved that she gets better as the stakes rise higher.

To the actor, the Ram Madhvani creation represents the kind of content she always believed in. “Now, I am moving in the right direction. I am marrying the person I am with the role I choose. It required a director like Ram and such a team to allow me to do that,” she says.

In the eight-part series, circumstances and shifting alliances compel Sen’s Aarya to transform from a homemaker to a fierce don. The actor is delighted that the audiences have embraced a woman-led story, season on season. “The show is inspired by Penoza [the Dutch series], or [if you see the similarities], the role is a female version of Michael Corleone from The Godfather. So, it’s tough for Indian audiences to suddenly accept not just a strong female lead, but to see her being everything that we consider masculine. Thanks to Ram, Aarya is still as feminine as she can be, because she is a mother first.”

The advent of streaming platforms has changed the content landscape in India over the past two years. Sen seconds the idea. “The real celebration of content has come through OTT because it has allowed us to explore. It’s not about actors, whose careers had come to an end, making a comeback. It is about web [platforms] that allow Indian stories to have international appeal while remaining true to Indian culture. [Aarya] being nominated at the Emmys was a shoutout to the fact that we are making our presence felt globally.”

The second season of the Disney+ Hotstar series ends with a tease, as Aarya finds herself facing a new enemy. Is a third edition on its way? “Penoza had five seasons. So, we have the basic arc of five seasons. Only Ram can answer this question, but I have a dirty feeling we’re coming with season three,” she laughs.

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar has been on the receiving end of criticism and praise in equal measures for his recent film Sardar Udham. The filmmaker, who had a masterclass at IFFI (International Film Festival of India) recently, spoke to us about his life post the film, whose story he had lived with for over 21 years. Excerpts:

You sometimes feel you have nothing left to do anymore. Kabhi kabhi hota hai aisa. The film was mounted on a big canvas, though we tried to not make it too big. Now, after the movie is over, suddenly I feel like I don’t know what to do. There is an emptiness that creeps in. Ronnie (Lahiri, the co-producer) and I have ideas and we keep talking about them, and discussing them, but it’s hard to get rid of that khaalipan, that vacuum created after Sardar Udham went out of our system. Both Ronnie and I had never thought it would go through the way it did. It’s like there was a little storm which has now blown over, and now we don’t know what to do.

You have to keep nurturing yourself. This is a very crucial period and often, people end up making wrong decisions during this phase. You want to quickly start something and put it out there. But the better way out is to remain calm and do things with proper thought and planning. Creatively, you have to keep yourself engaged and active — you have to keep the fire burning. Sometimes, you can do it through cinema and sometimes, you just do things like gardening, playing football or reading something or watching something.

Yes, that’s right! I regularly go to north Bengal where I was born. I grew up there and I spent my childhood in those places that I visit even now. It’s very peaceful. I’m going to stay in Goa for some time now and do some reading there. I also plan to jam with my researchers and see what we can arrive at. I am not in a hurry to make a new film.

Look, I have realised that criticism is something that you have to take. You can’t escape it and it’s a part and parcel of the work we do. You have to be ready for it and for observations that people make. Also, as a creative person, you cannot possibly cater to everyone and to everything that is asked of you. As Ronnie said during our masterclass session, we did not and we have not compromised on Sardar Udham in any manner. Yes, we may have made mistakes. We will go through the content and whatever mistakes we can identify, we will make a note of it and make up for it in our next films. The idea is to not repeat those mistakes again. I am absolutely not worried about criticism. It can affect you depending on the way you take it. Sometimes, criticism is very healthy and helpful. You have to know which part of criticism is important for you. Sometimes, you have to just let criticism pass and sometimes, you have to hold on to the things people tell you. I believe in taking just those points that are beneficial, learning from those and taking it forward.

Frankly, I don’t know what I will do with the material that I am left with from the film. There is a lot of research that I have. I have heard that Ram Madhvani is making a film on Jallianwala Bagh. I might give it to him. I would love to offer him all my research. It’s a creative and competitive line but I have told everyone that I am ready for any discussion on this subject. I have books that have been marked out, taped and set aside. I can help anyone who needs help on research on this subject.

I am very scared of expectations, please don’t expect anything from me. The next movie that I make may not cater to everyone. So far, I have tried to make films that I am happy about. The subjects Ronnie and I are discussing are about films that are completely out of the box. So, don’t expect anything from me. And frankly, expectations scare me a lot!

From being an actor known for acing the rom-com genre, Kartik Aaryan has come a long way. His portrayal of Arjun Pathak in the recently released Dhamaka shows him in a different light as an actor and brings out a shade of his talent that we’ve never seen before. On his birthday today, Kartik talks about becoming wiser as an actor with every passing day. He calls himself a ‘fanmade actor’ and says that the appreciation from viewers for Dhamaka has boosted his confidence to take up more challenging roles in the future. Excerpts from the chat...

For the longest time, I was looking to do something different from what I had done before. I am glad that everyone is so surprised and happy seeing my performance in Dhamaka. The one comment on social media that caught my attention is — ‘Where was this Kartik Aaryan, the actor?’ I am also excited with the way members of the film fraternity reacted to my performance after I met them at the film’s screening. They saw a different shade of me and were pleasantly surprised as it surpassed their imagination. All this while, I was seen as a commercial star, now they are happy to see me as a commercial-actor star.

With romance or comedy films, sometimes the audience misses taking notice of little nuances in a performance. Thankfully, with films of certain genres like Dhamaka, people take notice of these.

My dream is to be the number one actor in this industry. This film gave me that opportunity. I can see that the fraternity has taken notice of me as an actor. I’m certain Dhamaka will give me an opportunity to work with filmmakers that I always aspired to team up with and a chance to showcase my talent. Steadily, the options are opening up.

Yes, I was pretty sure. It was for the first time that I was collaborating with an ace filmmaker like Ram Madhvani sir. I have loved his work and craft. Well, the jodi worked! With this project, I knew what the content was and what we were getting into.

What also helped was the backing of maverick producers like Ronnie Screwvala and Amita Madhvani. I felt like I was in safe hands and confident about the final outcome. I was expecting a lot of love to come my way and that is what is happening right now. It is truly an edge-of-the-seat thriller, which I also felt while reading the script. The entire film unfolds in one room, yet, it has that scale and the commercial value. The characters are quite relatable and the climax of the film is beautiful. I went ahead with my gut feeling and I am happy to see the love that people are showering on the film. The only thing I was nervous about was the fact that I was shifting to another genre with this project. I was playing a very grey character. I was wondering how my fans would react, but today I am happy with the outcome.

It is definitely this birthday! I want to thank everyone for showing so much love to Dhamaka. This is really my biggest birthday present ever. I have always said that I am a fan-made hero. I took this leap of faith and did the film, and I am glad that my fans supported me. I am grateful to them. With this, I am confident to push my boundaries as an actor.

Arjun Pathak was quite a challenging role and you will definitely see me taking on more such challenging roles in the future. With my forthcoming films, I will be venturing into playing characters that are very different and far from what I have done before. You will see me in different avatars in movies like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Freddy, Shehzada and Captain India. It was a conscious decision by me to line up films that will be different from each other. Having said that, I won’t let go of my territory, which is rom-com. I will, of course, continue doing that, too.

(Laughs!) I know right? My fans celebrated and remembered me on Kartik Purnima. It feels good when fans shower so much love on you. It has been a great journey. I am proud of my struggles and where I have come from. I am proud of my highs and lows, my success and failures. I have learnt a lot from it all and because of the failures I have seen, I value this position where I am today a lot more. I don’t want to lose it and so, I will keep on working hard. I will keep entertaining my audience and hopefully, I will keep doing more and more challenging films in the future.

With my first film Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011), I got a loyal fan base, and from then to Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018), it grew by many folds. When my chips were down, my fans believed in me and boosted my morale to go ahead and prove myself. Sometimes, I feel I am privileged to get so much love. There was a time where I was trying to get into the industry, then there was a time where I wanted to get my second or third film, and then there was a time when I wanted people to know my name... as they would refer to me as the monologue actor (from Pyaar Ka Punchnama). It was only after Sonu Ke... that people registered my name. I am finally in a space where I am getting the opportunities to explore myself as an actor and play challenging characters. It definitely feels that I have arrived now.

Though Dhamaka is centred on Kartik Aaryan’s news anchor, it is Mrunal Thakur’s character that propels the story forward. Writers Ram Madhvani and Puneet Sharma have etched out her part as a headstrong television journalist who finds her personal and professional lives intertwined.

“No matter what profession [we are in], we all have to go through emotional turmoil [in our personal lives] while dealing with deadlines and the boss’ demands. It’s not an easy situation for Soumya [her character],” says Thakur. She describes the role as “dear” to her. “By the eighth day of the shoot, I started deeply connecting with her. But by then, it was time to say goodbye to her.” 

For the actor, the journalist’s ability to put on a brave face when her personal life is in shambles struck a chord with her. “The best thing that has happened to me is when a critic or the audience [rave about] a particular scene featuring me. This, despite the scene being shot when I was having a bad day. At such times, I feel good knowing that I was true to my profession, no matter what I was going through in my personal life. That’s the beauty of Ram’s characters as well.”

Thakur is thrilled to add a Madhvani directorial venture to her resumé, but the bigger high was to collaborate with Amruta Subhash on the Netflix project. She turns into a fan girl as she recounts, “When I met Amruta, I asked for a picture because I am a big fan of her work. Shwas [2004] is one of my favourite films. However, we don’t have any scenes together.”

Frothy romantic comedies can wait. For now, Kartik Aaryan has taken a step back from the genre to try his hand at a hard-hitting thriller with Dhamaka. And one of the more able directors in Bollywood is guiding him through the unfamiliar path. “Becoming Arjun Pathak was quite difficult,” begins the actor, who essays the role of a news anchor chasing TRPs while the city of Mumbai is under attack, in the Netflix film.

The first step to embracing the part was to surrender to director Ram Madhvani’s unconventional style of working. “Ram likes to shoot in a certain way; he takes us in a zone [and then lets us explore it as characters]. Also, he does 20-minute takes. So, whenever we’d go back to watch our take, it used to be a long session. Ram had also ensured that the actors were not allowed to meet each other before the shoot.”

He says that the process, unsettling as it was initially, has enriched him as an artiste. “My talks with him helped me get into the mind of Arjun Pathak. It was a challenging role, but he walked me through it. It’s an experience I want to relive. It’s not easy to be that honest in front of the camera.”

For an actor who has had more than his share of smitten loverboy roles, the complexity of the won’t-stop-at-anything news anchor was an instant draw. “I enjoyed the fact that Arjun is not vanilla. He is an opportunist, and has shades of grey. His moral compass is [skewed]. It was emotionally draining as the character goes through many [trying] situations. That said, it was an opportunity to utilise all my energy and invest in that role.”

The film, also starring Amruta Subhash and Mrunal Thakur, is an adaptation of the South Korean film, The Terror Live (2013). At the centre of the remake, however, lies a crucial message. 

Aaryan adds, “[While being a thriller], the film beautifully shows that your choices [determine] what you gain and lose.”

Bollywood’s ‘Chocolate Boy’ Kartik Aaryan is all set to redefine his craft, and his latest outing, Dhamaka, is solid proof of that. Going by the trailer, it’s evident that he will raise the bar with his performance in it. Kartik seems to be on a mission to take his career graph to the next level. Excerpts from a chat with the actor:

It was definitely a difficult task, but I feel extremely proud that the entire team managed to finish it in this record time because I don’t think that has happened before with any film. This was possible only because Ram sir (director Ram Madhvani) and everyone on set had prepared everything down to the last detail. I had started my prep months before the shoot began. By the time I was on set, I was living Arjun Pathak mentally. That is how we managed to complete the shoot smoothly and on time, which was quite cool.

Dhamaka is the most challenging film of my career so far, and Arjun Pathak is the most difficult character that I have played. In reality, I’m a very high-spirited person, so when I did a few of my previous films, which were in the rom-com space, I felt slightly more comfortable. However, Dhamaka pushed me to expand my boundaries as an actor. I play the role of a journalist, so my prep had definitely increased and was more detailed. I studied the lives of news reporters and watched various documentaries for a better understanding. It was also during the lockdown, so that gave me the time to get into this character deeply. Arjun’s character is layered and intense, so I really worked to live him in every way possible.

I studied the lives of news reporters and watched various documentaries for a better understanding. It was also during the lockdown, so that gave me that time to get into this character deeply. Arjun’s character is layered and intense, so I really worked to live him in every way possible.

Working with a director like Ram sir is a dream come true. It was definitely intimidating at first, but once you get on the set with him, he is just so phenomenal and inspiring that his presence alone makes you give your best. With Dhamaka, it was more about a chance to do something different as an actor, which made me push my limits. I am grateful for that pressure because it reminds you that there is someone counting on you, and you have the responsibility to deliver your best.

I am very happy about the response that we have received so far, but yes, there is slight nervousness too, because I have worked extremely hard for this role, and I hope the audiences enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it for them.

I am aware of the importance of a theatrical release. But the scenario that we are in, the question shouldn’t be between theatre or OTT, it should be theatre and OTT. It is a great opportunity for us to put out our creativity across different platforms, catering to a wider global audience. So, Dhamaka releasing on OTT is quite cool. It is definitely one of those films that I think people would love to enjoy in a comfortable environment with their family. It is really exciting to know that your work is directly at the tip of the finger for people way beyond just one country. It helps put your work out on a global level, so I am definitely looking forward to that.

Honestly, at work is the best time I can give to myself. It is the time that I love the most, besides spending time with family and close friends. But I feel fortunate that I get to do what I love every day. It surely has been hectic, but I enjoy it to the fullest and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Transforming for each film gives me an inexpressible adrenaline rush.

No, why will it distract me (laughs!). In fact, it motivates me to do better. Not just female fan following, but male following too… I am a fan-made hero. It is for them that I always try something different and push myself to do better, so technically they are the reason for where I am today.

Ram Madhvani pulled off a feat almost unheard of in Bollywood when he shot Dhamaka in 10 days. That too, in December 2020, only months after the first wave of the pandemic had waned. But then, the filmmaker is known to have a unique style of working—he uses multiple cameras at a point in time, and employs the ‘360-degree system’, where an actor is not restricted by demarcations on the floor and is free to walk anywhere on the set while enacting a scene. While it is an unconventional method, Madhvani says that Kartik Aaryan, the leading man of Dhamaka, took to it seamlessly.

“Kartik surrendered to the way I work and the system that I work in. It usually takes a lot of time for people to understand [this method]. I work with a lot of cameras, and employ the 360-degree system. It sounds abstract, and some day, I will write a book about what the 360-degree system [entails]. I don’t mould any actor; they have to commit to the part,” says the director, who is the mind behind Neerja (2016) and Aarya (2020).

Keen to collaborate with Aaryan for the past three years, Madhvani found the Netflix thriller to be the perfect vehicle to realise his wish. He is touched by the actor’s commitment to his craft, as he explains, “On Day 5 of our shoot, I was unable to coordinate several cameras. So, I told my team that we’ll shoot it the traditional way with one camera. Thankfully, Kartik said, ‘No sir, let’s not go the traditional way.’ That was the kind of faith I saw in him.”

The thriller, which sees Aaryan as a news anchor chasing TRPs while Mumbai is under attack, is an adaptation of the Korean film, The Terror Plan (2013). While Korean films have caught global attention after Parasite (2019), the director says they have long been on his radar. “I have been following Korean cinema for the past 20-25 years. I watch their work just like I watch other international movies. I am always interested in good work, and that’s a country producing good content.”

Over the past decade, he has built his career around rom-coms and feel-good comedies. But does it imply that Kartik Aaryan would be out of his depth in other genres? Hardly so. If the trailer is any indication, Dhamaka — a departure from his previous offerings — might be the perfect vehicle to showcase his acting prowess.

The actor admits his choices have undergone a shift in the past year, and Ram Madhvani’s directorial venture reflects that. “The lockdown gave me perspective on a lot of things. Because of the pandemic, I got that risk-taking ability. [Now], I want to do different stories. Dhamaka was an opportunity to explore something different. That change and that ability to take risks has come from within. It’s not that I don’t want to do rom-coms. I will do those too, but these are the stories that I am getting attracted to,” says Aaryan, adding that the audience’s palate too has changed in the past one-and-a-half years.

The taut thriller sees Aaryan’s news anchor Arjun Pathak battle between career and conscience as Mumbai is under attack. The Netflix film was shot in a span of 10 to 12 days in late 2020. Aaryan credits Madhvani for pulling off a film in the middle of the pandemic. “Arjun is not a vanilla character. It’s one of my most challenging roles, but it was a cakewalk because of Ram sir. He is a maverick director. The film is also designed differently — it was set in a small room with cameras all around, and I just had to act.” 

The Amruta Subhash and Mrunal Thakur-starrer is a remake of the South Korean film, The Terror Live (2013). Adapting a film in the OTT era may be considered a risky proposition — with the audience having access to the original movie, the remake may have little room for surprises or suspense. But Madhvani counters the idea. “How many times have you seen the Ramayana or [adaptations of] Shakespeare’s plays? Some stories are worth telling again. Adaptations also allow [the story] to reach a new generation. Of course, it also depends on whether the remake is good or bad.”