MUMBAI: Anupriya Goenka, who was recently seen playing Naina in Voot Select’s crime thriller Asur, says the lockdown is a good time to reflect on one’s life.

The actress went live with a media portal and spoke about the success of Asur, being an outsider in the industry, and why she craves to do a comic role. 

Here are excerpts from the interaction. 

On life during the lockdown 

On regular days, we have to work around a schedule. Right now, it’s our choice, we decide when we want to do what. So that is a big blessing. This is such a great opportunity just to spend time with yourself and your loved ones. I am also reflecting on myself, feeling normal, and getting back to who I am. 

On resuming work after the lockdown 

We were shooting for Criminal Justice Season 2 before the pandemic started. I think we should resume shooting once everything gets back to normal. Right now, I am reading a few scripts actually. They’re all very different from one another, mostly of the thriller genre so far. I am really dying to try some comedy now, and a dark character too. And even dancing around the trees, I want to do it all. I hope I’ll get that once the lockdown gets over. 

On the success of Asur 

Asur has been great. I’m really thrilled by the kind of reactions and praise we’ve got. And the great thing is that the entire team effort has been appreciated. What I liked about my character Naina was that it had two sides to it. One was obviously she had a lot at stake as a wife. She’s traumatised throughout the show, but at the same time, she has this techie in her who helps the team to crack the case. It’s one of the first shows that have this whole mythological angle amalgamated with a psycho thriller sort of a space. 

On choosing characters  

I choose my characters, firstly on the basis of my instinct. Then if the script is exciting, if the team is exciting, and what they’re trying to make is promising and something new. Many times it’s about the directors, if I’ve been wanting to work with them. Like right now I’ve done a web series called Ashram. The concept was obviously very interesting. But most of all, I was getting to work with Prakash Jha, and I really wanted to work with him. 

On web versus films 

As an actor, you treat both mediums in the same way. Of course, films have their own charm because of the wider reach. But web is equally alluring as the scripts are very experimental, and the character graphs are far more defined. And the best of teams are working in the web space. I’ve got to work with some exceptional directors, actors and great teams. So it’s been a very fulfilling experience. 

On approaching characters on different mediums 

Every character and project requires a different kind of approach, depending on the team that you’re working with and the time that you have at hand. Many of the web stuff that I have done, scripts have actually come last minute. Maybe two episodes are given to us first and then the next two follow. Maybe the last two episodes would come towards the very end, which is a little frustrating for sure. Because I think as an actor, the least we require is a complete script in hand. That’s also a constraint and I think as an industry, we are trying to figure these things out, spend more time in pre-production. But having said that, I’ve also been very lucky to work with a very dedicated and talented team of people. The intentions are always great.

On your dream role 

I am fond of Smita Patil. She’s an idol. So my dream role is everything that she’s worked in, maybe like a Mirch Masala, Mandi, Manthan or even Rekha’s Umrao Jaan or Silsila, or Madhubala’s Mughal-E-Azam. So if I get to do something similar, I’d be very blessed. 

On favourite content on streaming platforms 

The Morning Show on Apple TV is one of my most favourite shows. Then I really enjoyed this Tamil movie called Super Deluxe. Fahadh Faasil is one of my favourite actors now. There are Hunters and The Strangers on Netflix. There’s a documentary called Tiger King again on Netflix, which is very interesting. 

On the journey so far 

Being an outsider, I’m pretty happy with the kind of stuff that I’ve got to do. I’ve been here for seven years, and worked hard enough to be active in every medium. I’ve been blessed to work with exceptionally talented people, who I’ve admired for a long  time, like Vikramaditya Motwane, Nishikanth Kamat, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Siddharth Anand and Ali Abbas Zafar. So it’s been a fulfilling journey. And I got to play different characters. Acting for me is very therapeutic. So every time I act, I unravel a part of me and it’s quite overwhelming and satisfying. But then, having said that, there is so much more that I want to do. And I know I can. 

SOURCE – THE INDIAN EXPRESS