When Akshay Oberoi started his career with Isi Life Mein in 2010, he wanted to become the poster boy of Bollywood success. Over time, the industry taught him valuable lessons, imparting to him the importance of quality over quantity. The actor has since then built an impressive resume of digital offerings, choosing diverse roles that display his craft. In a quick chat, he discusses inhabiting the distinct worlds of his two shows — Amazon Prime Video’s Inside Edge 3 and Disney+ Hotstar’s Dil Bekaraar, an adaptation of Those Pricey Thakur Girls.

Edited excerpts from the interview

I read the book recently after shooting for the series. We have stuck to the source material. [Director] Habib Faisal may have tweaked a few things because he knows what works better for the visual language. If you ask Anuja Chauhan [the novel’s writer], I am sure she’ll tell you that the script respects the source material.

The show beautifully planted seeds for what we are doing today. In the start of the series, there is a dialogue: “It’s not like Prakash Padukone is bringing home a celebrity,” [which references today’s reality]. The seeds of modernisation were sowed then. [We are depicting] progressive families through the story. We were trying to be true to the decade and planting ideas that are relevant today.

I grew up in New Jersey and had no idea about cricket. I had not held a cricket bat until the show came my way. But Karan Anshuman and Kanishk Verma [director] met me for the role. The part is so relevant and addresses such a sensitive topic that I wanted to do it. I practiced cricket every day for two months. I had seen season one by the time I had signed the show. After coming on board, I watched the second season. By then, I had already fallen in love with cricket.

It is my job to represent society and this is a part of society that is underrepresented. It was a huge responsibility and an honour to play the part.

That is ridiculous. If the role is that of a murderer, do you have to cast a murderer? I have a skill set and have been working on my craft for 15-20 years. The point of acting is to get into somebody else’s shoes. The reason actors exist today is because they are paid to depict fractions of society that have nothing to do with them.

On the set, I was sensitive to the part and ensured that I didn’t make it caricaturish. The biggest victory was when the community reached out and thanked me for representing them accurately. That is more important to me than anything I have read. I experience love and sexuality as a human being. That is all that is needed to play the part. I am portraying feelings of love, and just because I am not part of the community, doesn’t mean I can’t represent it authentically.

Director Habib Faisal builds an old-world charm with Disney+ Hotstar’s latest series, Dil Bekarar. Set in the ’80s Delhi, the show — featuring Sahher Bambba — is a screen adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s novel Those Pricey Thakur Girls. Portraying a literary character comes with its own set of expectations. 

“A lot of homework went into fleshing out the role. Besides organising workshops for us, Habib sir supplied me with video material and links to use as reference for news reading, articulation, body language,” says the actor who played the character of Debjani Thakur — a strong-headed woman working as a Doordarshan anchor.

During the prep of Dil Bekarar, Bambba purposely stayed away from reading the original novel to give the character “her own interpretations”. “In the lockdown when my sister was reading the book, I never thought I would feature in its adaptation. It was a conscious call to refrain from reading the book. [When I got the script], I spent time to understand the character and her emotions.”

However, while the gazillion workshops prepared her for the show, it was still a challenge. “It was a challenge to crack the milieu of the ’80s. Habib sir gave us [several] book references and spent hours talking about the era to underline the sentiment of the period.”

The series also features Raj Babbar, Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kohapure. It “was a learning experience” to work with the veterans, says Bambba. “I was an awe-struck learner on set. Habib sir and Tarun Mansukhani [who directed a few episodes], brought their passion to the table. I hope the audience latches on to the simplicity of this series.”

If there is one thing The Empire has achieved, it is showcasing the talent of its women actors. Sahher Bambba was confident in her portrayal of Babur’s wife, Maham Begum, as she joined Shabana Azmi and Drashti Dhami on the series. “The women in the show are so powerful. That’s a rarity. Sharing the frame with Shabana Azmi was intimidating, but she taught me that it’s alright to feel butterflies in your stomach before a shot,” says the actor.

While it has been a tough climb after her debut film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2019) bombed at the box office, Bambba is not deterred. She has bagged another Disney+ Hotstar show — Those Pricey Thakur Girls, based on Anuja Chauhan’s book of the same name. “Habib Faisal was directing the show; that’s what made me test for it. I did a couple of [auditions] that took over a month. Habib sir wanted to be sure of who he is casting as the lead.”

The drama, set in the ’80s, will see her play newsreader Debjani Thakur, who has high ambitions and the grit to realise them. While Faisal helmed the first part of the series, the directorial baton was soon passed on to Tarun Mansukhani. “The credit of world-building goes to Habib sir. He was sure of the clothes, even the watch I am wearing on the show. He set the DNA of the character so well that Tarun sir didn’t take much time to adapt when he stepped in.”

The makers are eyeing an October release for the series.