There’s a lot an actor has to train in before appearing on the screen. For Karanvir Sharma, besides learning how to write stories and assist directors, the bigger challenge was to overcome his speech impediment. He had a lisp. After working with speech therapists and dialogue coaches, today, he is often told to lend his voice as a voiceover artiste. It was the first thing that hooked us to this conversation with the actor. In a chat with mid-day, Sharma talks about The Trial season two, why adaptations have become an easy fix, and why he feels he is yet to get his due. Excerpts from the interview.

I had seen The Good Wife when it was released earlier. It had been quite a gap. My directors [Umesh Bist and Suparn Varma] specifically told me not to watch it; it was the first brief he gave me. He said he didn’t want me to get limited with what the character was doing there. However, I still caught a few glimpses of it.

Absolutely, because of the memory I had of the character. It is very similar. Whoever has seen The Good Wife will see the exact arc, but it is more consolidated. The international show had about 23 episodes, but in the Indian version, we have only taken the highlights and made six episodes from it.

I may lose out [on fleshing out the] character, but crisp storytelling is the trend. People have started exploring content vertically because maybe the attention span is less these days. I think six episodes of 45 minutes each is good enough to tell a story. However, I also felt some more of my scenes could be added.

It could be both. Some time back, I did a show called 24 — one of the initial shows to be adapted from an international series. I feel nakal ke liye akal lagti hai. Somewhere they hit the right chord for the first season, so the second season of it would be highly anticipated, because when the season two of The Good Wife came out, it was the highlight of the series too. I feel Umesh Bist will fill up the gap. His last series Gyaarah Gyaarah [2024] was a Korean adaptation, and he did a good job with it. The rest is up to the audience.

Adaptations have been going on for ages, it’s just that we are noticing it now because it’s at the forefront. Even Hindi TV shows are adapting from regional shows. I was part of Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahaani, which was the adaptation of the Bengali show, Mohor. It doesn’t mean every adaptation is going to be successful. I loved Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara, but that is also an adaptation of the Korean movie, [A Moment to Remember]. It’s in the hands of the director to make it connect with the Indian audience. It’s not that we are running out of ideas. It’s so difficult for original scripts to get a pass these days. You have to be a salesman more than a creative in this industry now. I wish we had more originals because we have a rich culture. 

I always criticize myself. I feel if you get too comfortable with yourself, it will be your downfall. I feel that sentiment is unanimous among actors. I had done a scene which was mediocre in The Trial. It is a regret. I broke down and cried in front of the director. My mother was hospitalized and my uncle had undergone a surgery. [I had] too many things going on. As an actor you have to keep your personal emotions on the side, but it is not always possible. The next day, it was the climax scene of my character with the whole cast. It had a lot of give and take, and you cannot miss the beat, expressions, and movements. So, I had to switch off, I couldn’t repeat the mistake. I was nervous about it, but it happened, and my director loved it.

Not at all. This was one of the reasons why I picked up The Trial. It was to show people that I can be part of all the mediums and I am a good actor. I will be very disappointed if people don’t appreciate what I have done. This is like a big comeback for me. For so many years, despite getting critical acclaim, I am not able to get out of the struggle. It’s been a decade or so since I have been acting, but I’ve never got a bad review. It has to account for something.

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The Trial’s second season has brought several reunions for Sheeba Chadha, including with former collaborator Umesh Bist, who took over the directing duties for this instalment of the JioHotstar show. The two had previously worked together on the Sanya Malhotra-starrer Pagglait (2021), a world drastically different from that of the legal drama. But what remained constant, Chadha says, was Bist’s sensitive approach.

“I had a very good working experience with him in Pagglait. What is amazing is that the zone of The Trial is diametrically opposite from that of Pagglait. But he brings sensitivity and gentleness to the show. I think there’s enough fire and spice in the script. But the landing of it with a gentle hand, an eye that sees a little bit more than what’s on the page, and then to encourage the actors to look at it and to bring that into play, that’s what Umesh always brings to anything he does. It’s his eye for emotional detail. He will always make the script flower more,” the actor shares.

Chadha also enjoyed returning to the set alongside the show’s other talented women, including Kajol and Kubbra Sait. While the sexist notion that women don’t get along is often attached to projects featuring several female actors, Chadha believes this idea is outdated.

“That’s a very old school [of thought] that if there are two or three women together [it’s difficult]. Nobody wants to indulge that. Of course, this kind of feeling [of insecurity] any actor can have towards any actor. But it’s outdated to pander to that narrative.  Sisterhood is just wonderful, there’s no doubt about it. You just have to allow it. It’s really solid and brings you so much.”

The Trial will mark her fifth release in 2025 alone — three shows and two films, both on OTT and the big screen. The streaming space has given her rich opportunities to showcase her versatility, through projects like Bandish Bandits, Mirzapur, and Taj Mahal 1989. But there are murmurs in the industry that stories on OTT are beginning to follow a template, with unconventional ideas struggling to take off. Chadha admits she has been hearing about “recession in the industry”.

“Right now, I’m hearing this, ‘Oh! the industry is going through a recession.’ And, ‘People want to see everyday stories, relatable stories.’ So what seems to be working right now are the smaller town stories. Now that’s a template, right? Panchayat [Prime Video series] is a template. Gullak [SonyLIV series] is a template. I’ve just done a show called Bakaiti, which probably falls in the same template. Can there be more expansive content? I think that goes without saying, always, because the minute something does well, it will become a template. It takes a lot to break that [mould] and come up with stuff that is not driven by commerce. Having said that, I am hugely grateful for the vast canvas of stuff that I’ve gotten to perform on OTT — Bandish Bandits is very different from The Trial, which in turn is very different from other stuff that I have done.”

Intrigue is the first word that admittedly comes to Sheeba Chadha’s mind when we mention Ramayana. The actor, who plays Manthara to Lara Dutta’s Kaikeyi in filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious drama, finds the intrigue around the Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash-starrer surreal.

She admits that at the time of shooting her portions, she didn’t expect such heightened anticipation around the movie. “Everybody everywhere is asking me about Ramayana. When I was shooting it, I did not know that the project is so ambitious! The intrigue or curiosity around it [is off the roof],” she exclaims, before adding, “I have a small role, but it was fun working on the movie. My work was largely with Lara Dutta.”

For now though, the actor is focusing on The Trial’s second season, led by Kajol. Chadha reveals that this edition will explore the vulnerable side to her “daunting” character. “Malini is a strong character and stands her ground. But you see other shades to her this time.”

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The fourth season of Disney+ Hotstar’s Criminal Justice will stream soon; (right) Murder In Mahim was one of Jio Cinema’s originals

On Tuesday, the JioStar website went live, with the text on the screen simply reading, ‘Coming soon’. This marks a new chapter in the months-long merger that has been underway between Reliance Industries Limited’s Viacom18, and Disney Star India. In the months since the merger’s official announcement in February, there has been speculation about the road ahead for the two media networks’ OTT arms, Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar.

With JioStar expected to be fully functional on November 14 midnight, an insider tells mid-day that the content of the two platforms will be merged. “The merging of Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar will be complete by November 13. After JioStar goes live on November 14 midnight, the content of both streamers will be available on this platform under separate sub-domains,” reveals a technical hand from Jio Cinema.

The question now is: What does the merger imply for the multiple channels under the two networks? While Disney Star brings with it over 20 channels across general entertainment, sports and movies, Viacom18 has its own bouquet that includes Colors and regional channels.

A production source from Star says, “Both Star and Colors have multiple regional channels targeting Bengali, Punjabi, Odia, Kannada audiences and more. So, instead of the two channels vying for the same viewers, the content of the weaker channel will be merged into the more popular counterpart. For instance, Star Marathi is doing considerably better than Colors Marathi; so, the latter will dissolve into the former. If there is a stand-out show that brings in high TRPs or pulls in a new audience, it will be retained. An example of this is Anupamaa, which is originally a Star offering. But largely, the idea is to stop replication of channels. In addition, there are many Hindi general entertainment channels, including Star Bharat, Star Plus, Star Utsav, and so on. These could be in direct competition to Colors TV. So, the channels will merge in the near future after a final programming has been locked. The final branding of these channels will be determined in the months to come.”

On the streaming front, the overlapping of international content is far less. While Disney+ Hotstar houses popular content from ABC and Showtime, such as Grey’s Anatomy and Modern Family, Jio Cinema has the HBO and Paramount slates.

The source adds, “JioStar, in that regard, will boast a diverse and enviable library. From old offerings like Game of Thrones to the more current winners like The Bear, it will have something for everyone.”

The popular homegrown titles of Disney+ Hotstar remain untouched. A hand from Disney+ Hotstar informs, “If there is a big title well in its third or fourth season, it will continue. For instance, we will soon release the fourth season of Criminal Justice. Other franchise shows such as Aarya and The Trial remain, while new series will be picked up January onwards. The operations will require synergy and will be worked out by December-end.”

Naturally, with the two networks’ workforce being consolidated, it will result in multiple people in the same roles. A trimming of head count is likely to take place.

The biggest highlight of the merger, however, is the idea of taking OTT to the last-mile consumer. It is heard that Uday Shankar, who is serving as the vice-chairman of the merged entity and will establish its strategic direction, wants to emphasize on Advertising Video on Demand (AVOD) and Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) to lure a wider demographic.

Another source from the Jio team says, “This merger will redefine how TV and streaming will be integrated, and thus change the content landscape. We are looking at reaching every Indian, which will be possible only when you stop making it premium. That’s why we’re taking the three-pronged approach with JioStar: there will be AVOD for the widest base. Then comes SVOD at an affordable price; we noticed that the Rs. 29 per month model worked for Jio Cinema. The third will be TVOD, wherein you can rent certain digital content for a price. JioStar will make room for every viewer, as per how much they can afford.”

mid-day reached out to the communication teams of Viacom, Jio and Hotstar, who did not respond till press time.

Mumbai/Silchar: A 31-year-old actress Noor Malabika Das, who had appeared in a few web series, allegedly died by suicide at her rented flat in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (W). The decomposed body was found hanging on Friday, when a neighbour complained of a stench. Family members said the former air-hostess was battling depression.

The police station broke open the door to find her decomposed body hanging from the ceiling. The police said that her parents had been staying with her but left for their home, Karimganj, Assam, 10 days ago.

Her aunt Arati Das said that the former air hostess had come to Mumbai with hopes of become an actress. “She was fighting hard to achieve this. We understand Malabika was unsatisfied with her achievements...,” she said.

She last appeared in the web series ‘The Trial’ featuring actress Kajol. — 

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Actress Noor Malabika Das was found dead in her apartment in Andheri, the police said on Monday, adding that they suspect it to be a case of suicide. Her body was recovered in a decomposed condition from her house.

Noor, who has starred in a few web shows, was also a part of Kajol’s show The Trial.

Hailing from Assam, Noor had previously worked as an air hostess.

On June 8, people in her neighbourhood complained of a foul smell coming from the house, following which, they informed the police.

A senior police officer told us, “It is a case of suicide. She was in depression. Her body was handed over to a family friend, who performed the last rites.” 

Sheeba Chaddha notes that she has been playing a mother on screen since she was 26, the remark telling of the industry’s tendency to typecast actors. But over the past few years, a wide range of characters has been coming her way—from an antagonist in Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 - Agni Pariksha (2022) to a ghost in Phone Bhoot (2022). 

“In the last few years, I have played diverse characters. I am fortunate that people can imagine me in diametrically opposite roles. Some filmmakers have cast me in authoritative characters too, like the one in The Trial,” says the actor.

The Trial, created and directed by Suparn S Varma, ticked a lot of boxes for Chaddha. “I had never done a courtroom drama before. Kajol was a big reason for me to say yes. I had loved Suparn’s The Family Man 2. He is a director I hadn’t worked with before. So, it was a win-win in all [aspects].”

The experience of shooting with Kajol surpassed the expectations of Chaddha, who plays her boss in the Disney+ Hotstar drama. The actor is impressed by Kajol’s generosity and appreciative demeanour. 

“Kajol is chilled out. She comes with an aura, and rightfully so—she is a remarkable performer. She is a team player, who is appreciative of everyone. She would compliment me about my look and my performance every time we had a scene together.”

In the early stages of developing The Trial, creator-director Suparn S Varma knew two things for certain—that he had a powerful source material in The Good Wife. Secondly, he would make the adaptation only with Kajol in the lead. The actor steps into Julianna Margulies’s shoes to play lawyer Noyonika Sengupta.

“When it came to casting, I had only one name. I have been a Kajol fan. She has resilience as well as a strong sense of what she will accept and what she won’t. Likewise, Noyonika is a woman of tremendous inner strength,” reasons Varma.

He was confident the leading lady would bring the much-needed depth to Noyonika, who is compelled to begin her life anew after her husband—essayed by Jisshu Sengupta—is put behind bars. “Kajol brings gravitas, and depth of emotional experiences to [her role].”

But at the end of the day, every actor is in service of the script. Adapting an Emmy Award-winning show is no mean feat. Varma and his team of writers had to localise the Disney+ Hotstar offering.

“The cases shown are contemporary. The angle between Kajol and Alyy Khan’s characters had to be reworked because in today’s times, Alyy’s character would be cancelled for having an affair with his employee. The lead character has been changed too. Plus, we knew how the original seasons evolved. So, we could add a lot of those [developments] in the first part itself.”

In 2014, former Miss India Manasvi Mamgai forayed into Hindi films with Ajay Devgn’s Action Jackson. Playing the antagonist, she hoped, would pave the way for complex roles. Instead, she says that playing a villain backfired in an industry that is quick to typecast actors. Almost a decade since, the actor is returning to the screens with The Trial.

In the Kajol-led legal drama, Mamgai plays a role loosely based on a star girlfriend who is at the receiving end of suspicion and hate after the unexpected demise of her partner. The obvious reference point is Rhea Chakraborty in light of what unspooled in the Sushant Singh Rajput case after his death in 2020.

“I want people to reflect on what’s happening in society. That’s why I took this role. I’ve gone through something like this, in a different intensity. In my first film, I portrayed a role that was hard to stomach. After watching Action Jackson, my friends and family said, ‘What did you do?’ That was a morally dubious character. I got identified as that, and the roles that came my way after that were all similar. So, I wanted to do this role to challenge how we go on a witch-hunt, without understanding the other person’s perspective. Here, a lot of emotions came from my own anger,” she says.

While her last movie was with Devgn, it’s serendipitous that she is making a comeback with his actor-wife Kajol. She is all praise for her co-star. “On my first day of shoot, she was singing my song, Gangster Baby. I [assumed] she would be an unapproachable big star, but she is down-to-earth. Even as an actor, she helped me so much.”

Over the past nine years, Mamgai was in the USA, building a life away from Bollywood. The “gypsy at heart” believes that life can’t be just about acting and modelling. “I moved to Los Angeles because I didn’t want to be bound by an industry. I did a rescue dive course and studied production.”

She is now working on her first Hollywood production, which will be based on the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III. “We’ve acquired the life rights of the kidnapper. This will be the mafia’s perspective on it.”

Entertainment lawyer Priyanka Khimani remembers watching The Good Wife on its release in 2009 and instantly becoming a fan of Alicia Florrick, played by Julianna Margulies. She even wondered how interesting it would be to attempt a similar legal drama in India. Cut to 2021: creator-director Suparn S Varma, and writers Hussain Dalal and Siddharth Kumar began reimagining the legal drama to create The Trial.

With the adaptation rights of the original in hand, the makers needed someone who could simplify the legal jargon in the show and help them centre it on Indian judicial laws. Enter Khimani. “From day one, I was brought into the writer’s room. There was no doubt in their minds that I was a perfect fit for this because I come from both worlds—a lawyer and a writer,” she says.

The former model had written her first television show, the 60-episode thriller, Tamanna House, at 15. While she pursued her law degree, Khimani wrote scripts as a side hustle and was long ingrained in the glamour world.

In The Trial, protagonist Noyonika Sengupta—essayed by Kajol—resumes her law practice after her husband is put behind bars. Khimani assumed that she would be required to vet some cases and ensure the writing team got the legal jargon right. But that was only the beginning.

“We grew up watching [Sunny Deol screaming] Tareekh Pe Tareekh [in Damini, 1993]. No one has captured what really happens in a law firm. For most, the legal profession boils down to what happens in the courtroom. But there are so many interpersonal elements. The dynamics, the interpersonal equation, the emotions, and the final verdict are interesting to showcase,” emphasizes Khimani, who is now the co-founder and lead partner of Khimani & Associates. Some of her clients include Sonu Nigam, Anurag Kashyap, and Badshah, among others.

The writing team’s biggest challenge was to ascertain the series’ main conflict. In the original, Chris Noth’s character Peter Florrick, the Cook County State Attorney, is plagued by corruption and prostitution scandals. After being cleared of all charges, he successfully campaigns for election as State Attorney again to become Governor of Illinois later. Considering the judicial hierarchy in the US differs from that in India, it was important to determine the arc of Jisshu Sengupta’s character, Rajeev Sengupta.

The lawyer explains, “In India, we don’t have district attorneys. We have public prosecutors. Even then, why would anyone care about a public prosecutor’s scandals? I had to find an equivalent in India. So, we went with the post of an additional judge who is appointed to the High Court in Delhi. They don’t enjoy the immunity that a sitting judge of a High Court does.”

Since the legal system in India vastly differs from that in the US, they were unable to borrow the proceedings of the cases showcased in The Good Wife. She points out one glaring difference.

“We don’t have jury trials, which is where all the drama happens in American courts,” she highlights, before adding, “We don’t do depositions [a formal, usually written, statement to be used as evidence] with video cameras in India. The criminal and civil judiciaries and courtrooms are different. [We also had to] find cases that were close [to the original], but make sure that they were accurate in terms of the procedure in India. For example, in the American system, litigators could be partners, who also make the arguments in court. In India, the counsel, is a lawyer who advises clients and provides them with legal guidance, but does not represent them in court.”

It was a task to compress the proceedings of the original’s 23 episodes and showcase them in eight episodes of the Disney+ Hotstar offering. The entertainment lawyer zeroed in on the cases and its proceedings, which were then embellished by the writers.

“For each episode, we came up with individual cases. For instance, we shot in a juvenile justice court because the case entailed an underage kid.”

Khimani also had to go on set to ensure that the representation of a law firm was accurate.

“We went into a lot of granular details, including Kajol’s outfits, how she should wear the collar, the on-duty and off-duty look, the look of the high court, sessions court, and district court. I was quite hands-on.”

Jisshu Sengupta was certain he would not play a husband on screen again. From Rani Mukerji’s Mardaani franchise to Vidya Balan-led Shakuntala Devi (2020), and Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (2020), the actor had essayed the role of the spouse one too many times. But luck had other plans, he realised, when creator-director Suparn S Varma approached him for a part in The Trial.

“When I met Suparn for the show, I didn’t know which role I was about to play. Then he said, ‘Husband!’” he laughs.

In The Trial, which is the Indian adaptation of The Good Wife, Sengupta’s character is put behind bars after his wrongdoings come to light. This compels his wife—essayed by Kajol—to begin her life anew. Early on in the narration, Sengupta understood that his role, with its complexities, was different from the husband roles he had played in the past.

“My character is grey and has got so many layers. I believe there is so much to do with negative shades in a character, something that a positive role [does not offer you].”

That said, it was neither the temptation of the layered part, nor the joy of collaborating with Varma on the Disney+ Hotstar offering that sealed the deal for him. It was, in fact, the prospect of sharing screen space with an actor he has admired for decades that did the trick.

“The moment Suparn mentioned Kajol’s name, I said, ‘Done deal.’ I am a huge fan of her work. Acting opposite her was a dream come true.”

The actor has no qualms admitting that he was a bundle of nerves before their first shot. “On the first day, I told her, ‘I am very nervous.’ She said, ‘Shut up, just shut up!’ That actually broke the ice,” he laughs, before heaping praise on Kajol. “She put me at ease. She doesn’t have the airs of a superstar. Once the camera rolls, Kajol pushes you to be better. Because she is giving her all, you feel like pushing your boundaries.”

When it comes to scripts, it’s tough to please Kajol. Tougher if she is a die-hard fan of the source material. Creator-director Suparn S Varma had his work cut out for him when he met her to narrate The Trial, the Indian adaptation of The Good Wife, a popular American legal drama that Kajol swears by. Fortunately, both the actor and the fan in her were overjoyed with Varma’s take on the original. 

“I loved The Good Wife,” says the actor, with her signature zest. “I wanted to see how it would be adapted here. It has things that I love as a woman, but I couldn’t see Indian cinema including them. But when I heard the adaptation, I loved how Suparn had put things together.”

The actor steps into Julianna Margulies’s shoes for the Disney+ Hotstar series. To Kajol’s surprise, her lawyer-character Noyonika Sengupta turned out to be more nuanced than The Good Wife’s protagonist. “This is my personal opinion, but because of the Indian culture and the society we live in, Noyonika comes across as a much richer character. She has a lot more to say,” she explains. 

The Trial—also starring Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait and Sheeba Chaddha—marks Kajol’s web series debut. In her three-decade career, the actor has worked on her own terms—be it playing a negative role in Gupt (1997) when leading ladies were expected to merely be the hero’s love interest, or taking a break in the early aughts to focus on her family. She says it is her individualistic streak that has helped her have a long run in the industry.

“For me, it’s easier to say no to people than to say yes. That’s probably why I am still working, and very happily at that. I would’ve been exhausted if I were working at the same pace as others. I must have hardly done 70 films in such a long career. The reason is I don’t work with people whom I don’t like. For me, work should be fun, not dreadful.”

Suparn Varma can’t imagine a better start to the week, as the trailer of The Trial drops online today. With it, he brings the adaptation of the popular American show, The Good Wife, to the Indian audience. He believes that in Kajol, he has the best actor to bring the story alive.

“Kajol has been India’s sweetheart for decades. I have a mad energy on set, and luckily, she is equally mad,” grins the creator-director.

In the courtroom drama, Kajol will reprise the role played by Julianna Margulies in the original. While over the years, Varma had heard much about the actor’s famed spontaneity, he saw it first-hand on her maiden web series.

“Before shooting intense scenes, we would have long discussions, where she would ask me what more she could do in the scene. I’d scribble down some lines for her, which would come from a personal space. She is a giving actor, who is always present in the moment. You can see her create her scenes in real time.”

Varma, who recently had a winner in Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, says actors today are hungry to experiment with characters, and the web has given them the outlet to satiate their appetite. “The storytelling is richer, and the characters created are fuller.”