Weeks after the release of Inside Edge 3, Richa Chadha is looking forward to her next digital outing, Six Suspects. Director Tigmanshu Dhulia has taken on the responsibility of adapting Vikas Swarup’s bestseller of the same name, which revolves around the murder of a politician’s son, for the screen. “I loved playing the protagonist who is an investigating officer. The show has a great ensemble, but the most interesting part was playing the ethical and straightforward character. Collaborating with Tigmanshu was exciting because of his clarity of vision,” says Chadha, who joins Pratik Gandhi, Raghubir Yadav, Ashutosh Rana, Shashank Arora and Jatin Goswami on the project.

Even as films remain her focus, the actor, over the past few years, has been part of several engaging web projects — be it Inside Edge that looks at the dark side of cricket, or One Mic Stand that had her dabbling in stand-up comedy. That the OTT revolution has enabled her to give in to her experimental streak isn’t lost on her. Chadha credits the OTT boom for giving a new lease of life to talented actors who didn’t get a fair shot at stardom in the box-office-obsessed Bollywood.

“The exponential growth of OTT has added years to the lives of many accomplished actors like Pratik Gandhi, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shefali Shah and Priyanka Bose. I feel delighted when they say, in their interviews, that they don’t have dates and are unable to accommodate other commitments due to their busy [schedules]. OTT has raised the bar for performances.”

Actor Richa Chadha feels the star culture seeping in the digital space is not a bad thing. “Kya hoga star culture ke aane se? I don’t have any fear about it. In fact, it is good for the stars if they come on the OTT space,” Chadha shares.

Ask her what makes her say this, and the 34-year-old explains, “They will be able to reach a wider audience, including those who don’t really buy the commercial storylines. [They] can do exciting things. So, stars venturing into OTT is a great thing. This is my personal belief.”

Chadha has explored the medium with projects such as Inside Edge, Unpaused and her recent web show, Candy. “I always thought that there was space for OTT medium. This space was for people who could not relate to traditional television or the saas-bahu drama, and wanted to watch something [different]. I also witnessed that foreign content like Narcos was available, but not [in] Hindi. Initially, a lot of people thought that I had lost my mind. They told me, ‘Tum filmein karke kaise yeh kar sakti ho?’ All of them are now on OTT,” she reveals, adding that she always believed in the power of the digital space, and its “potential to grow”.

After the thrilling ride of Candy, about drug menace and a masked killer, Chadha is enjoying a little break, before diving into the world of Six Suspects, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s next web series.

“I have a whole bunch of projects starting in October end and November. So, I’m looking forward to getting some free time now. I’ll utilise this time to write, get into production or work on a full feature,” she says, revealing that she hopes to wrap up her stint on Dhulia’s project by the end of this year.

What do you get when you bring one of Bollywood’s reigning actors and the biggest find of 2020 together? Hopefully, a lot of laughs. That’s what director Arshad Syed was counting on when he announced his comedy Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan?, featuring Taapsee Pannu and Pratik Gandhi, in February. Pannu, who is filming her Telugu project Mishan Impossible, which will be followed by the Shabaash Mithu shoot, says the comedy will be the perfect way to bring the year to a close. “Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan? is a social satire. The material is hilarious, and I am thrilled as well as nervous [to attempt it],” says the actor.

The movie explores the battle of wits that ensues when Gandhi’s chauvinistic brat and Pannu’s cop take a journey together. The Scam 1992 actor, having got little opportunity so far to showcase his light-hearted side on screen, says, “I have done a lot of comedy in theatre, but this will be my first brush with the genre on screen. It’s not easy to crack comedy. It requires an artiste to be spontaneous and go with the flow. My theatre directors have told me that my comic timing [is perfect], so I am hopeful of pulling this off.”

But it will be a while before the duo can dive into the shoot of the rib-tickling fest. With the second lockdown having disrupted the timeline of many projects, the two are scrambling to honour their commitments. For Pannu, who recently returned from an envy-inducing Russia vacation, it’s all work for the next few months. “After the first lockdown, I had to finish several films in four months. I don’t endorse [working like this], but one [doesn’t have an option] in such a situation. Now, we’re in a similar scenario due to the second lockdown. I am negotiating with my producers to make up for the lost time.”

Gandhi has to wrap up Six Suspects before he can train his focus on the film. He says, “The plan is to shoot by the year-end, but a lot of dates have been reworked. We’ll begin our readings in a couple of months.”

One of the many highlights of The Family Man is the easy banter between Manoj Bajpayee’s Srikant and Sharib Hashmi’s JK, be it while they munch outside a vada-pav stall or just minutes before a hostage situation. Ask how it feels to be a much-loved spy, second only to Srikant, and Hashmi says that it’s sheer joy to reprise the role of JK. As the second season opens to glowing reviews, the actor discusses his on-screen chemistry with Bajpayee, discovering Chennai during the shoot and how they have “stayed true to the story”.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

I was heartbroken every time the show was pushed [to a later date of release]. Everyone is happy that it’s finally streaming. We started shooting for the second season even before the first instalment was released. Amazon Prime Video was confident of the series and had given a go-ahead for its sequel. We wrapped up the shoot in 2019.

Thanks to The Family Man 2, I made my first trip to Chennai. I am a huge fan of Tamil cinema. Kamal Haasan is one of my favourite actors, and I love listening to A R Rahman and Ilaiyaraja’s compositions. I have been watching Tamil cinema since the early Doordarshan days. On our days off, we went to Marina beach. I wanted to see Kamal sir’s house, but couldn’t manage in the time available. The food in Chennai is amazing, especially at the Andhra mess.

I haven’t grasped the language, which often caused miscommunication. Most locals don’t know English or Hindi; we mostly talked in sign language.

In season one, I was like Srikant’s shadow. Here, I am left alone and tasked with a mission. The chemistry between Srikant and JK was already set [in season one]. It became easier this time because now, we have an off-screen bond.

This season was also challenging because I had to pull off some action sequences. For a scene, I had to scale a wall and fall on the other side. It was a simple stunt, and the production team had laid out cushions to ease my fall. But I landed on my chest and suffered an internal injury. The pain lasted for months.

When we were shooting, we never let the pressure overwhelm us. We didn’t work as per what worked in the first instalment. We stuck to the storyline and were always true to the subject. I hope we can make three or four more seasons as I am not done with JK yet.

We completed the shoot much before the new [regulations] came up. We didn’t reshoot any part of the show. Frankly, I haven’t read the new guidelines yet, so I’m not aware if we’ve flouted anything.

I have completed my portions in Dhaakad, but have some shooting left for Mission Majnu. I am doing another series titled Six Suspects, which is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. I will reunite with Pratik Gandhi [after Scam 1992] on the project.

On Tuesday, Mumbai woke up to the news of an impending lockdown to curb the rising Coronavirus cases in the city. The development may put a strain on the film industry that limped back to normalcy after being hit hard by the lockdown in 2020. While the units have been following on-set guidelines since last year, it is learnt that the suits at Disney+ Hotstar have informed the makers of Six Suspects, the Pratik Gandhi and Richa Chadha-starrer, to limit their crew strength to 50. “The number of people on the floor has to be 25. While the team was earlier shooting six days a week for eight hours each, it has been cut down to six-hour stints,” says the source. Similar instructions have been issued by Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to their respective productions, Four More Shots Please 3 and Dongri To Dubai.

Prabhas and Saif Ali Khan’s Adipurush is among the biggest films currently on floors. Despite its ambitious theme, director Om Raut has planned the shoot such that no more than 25 people are on set at the same time. “Om shoots his stars against the chroma background, and is simultaneously doing the VFX work,” says a production source. 

Meanwhile, the unit of Jimmy Sheirgill’s Your Honour 2 has been filming between Goregaon and Malad, moving from one location to another. What remains a constant is the adherence to SOPs [standard operating procedures] like daily temperature checks and ensuring the crew is masked up. 

Prasoon Garg from Applause Entertainment reveals that they have divided the unit into three bands. “It is divided basis their access to parts of a set. Only one band can go on the floor while those belonging to the remaining two bands handle behind-the-scenes work, thus reducing crowding on the set. We have also made different batches for lunch so that the entire unit doesn’t gather at the [cafeteria],” he explains.  

While Bollywood awaits fresh SOPs in the event of a lockdown, filmmakers continue to make progress on their projects — where Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan is being filmed in a bio-bubble, the shoot of Salman Khan’s Tiger 3 will resume at SRPF Grounds later this week.

Richa Chadha is currently filming Six Suspects, the screen adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s acclaimed novel of the same name. Keen to familiarise herself with the gritty universe of the murder mystery, the actor devoured the book before reporting to the shoot with co-star Pratik Gandhi. Her efforts to become one with the character got a boost when the diplomat-author dropped in on the set of the Tigmanshu Dhulia-directed web series in Mumbai yesterday. 

“Vikas is such an amazing writer, and that shows in his work. When I met him in person, I truly understood his nuanced vision, and by extension, my role better. Meeting him on the set further helped me do justice to this character,” says Chadha, who plays one of the prime suspects in the murder of a politician’s son, who was in turn acquitted in the murder case of a Delhi bartender.

Inspired by true events, the Disney+ Hotstar series — through its six central characters — will give a peek into the underbelly of contemporary India. The actor says that she enjoyed how Swarup astutely made a larger statement through the plot. “Rich with culture, the book was an intriguing read. I found its assorted perspectives on current India enjoyable.”