EXCLUSIVE | Netflix's 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein 2' actor Tahir Raj Bhasin: 'The show is an ode to the sensational writing the cinema of the 90s used to have and...'

Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein Season 2, released last Friday on Netflix, continues to captivate audiences with its gripping blend of crime, love, obsession, and murder.

At the heart of the series is Tahir Raj Bhasin’s powerful portrayal of a man caught in a relentless spiral of danger and desperation. His character embodies the painful transformation of an ordinary man pushed to the brink by external threats and the weight of his inner demons. As the stakes increase and the lines between love and obsession blur, viewers are taken on a roller-coaster ride of suspense, emotion, and shocking twists.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor spoke about the pulpy ode to the Hindi cinema of the yore, the transition from vulnerable to evil, and lots more.

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Edited excerpts from the interview

What is the one quality about your respective roles you wish you had in real life?

Thinking of the consequences later.

What begins as a vulnerable character is now displaying shades of grey. How was it like to discover the dark side of Vikrant?

The thing about storytelling is that every hero is a villain in somebody’s story and that’s what you’re seeing in Vikrant at the moment. Season one established the character and what his core needs were, the audience knows where he’s coming from and why he’s doing certain things. In season two, he was a victim of his circumstances, but now, by chance and not by any planning, things are going in his favour. I’ve grown up watching anti-heroes and that’s what makes Vikrant incredible to play.

Even though we all know the title is derived from a Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol song , I really like that scene when you google how to cry on your wife’s death and techniques derived by actors to cry, and then we see scenes of Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan. This series is clearly an ode to Hindi cinema, right?

It’s an ode to the high drama, the high stakes, and the unapologetically sensational writing that the show has and the cinema of the 90s used to have. But at the same time, it has been done in a very Tongue and Cheek way. This is a genre that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s slick and keeps with today’s times but there are subtle moments too that come and go. It is just amazing because you have also grown up on that kind of cinema.

And how do you prepare for a breakdown scene? Is there a countdown for you as well?

It’s a brilliantly written scene because it’s so absurd that someone has to google how to fake crying to mourn the death of his wife who he’s only planning to murder. As an actor when you read that, you think how you convincingly play this so that it doesn’t look like you’re hamming or you don’t take this seriously. The great thing is that because he doesn’t know how to do this and because he’s googling it, you can do it badly.

You have to look like you’re crying but you don’t have to look like you’re crying like an expert. The audiences have to be able to tell that you’re doing it really badly and that was a tricky balance to maintain because there are many instances when Vikrant actually breaks down. You’re faking crying and two minutes later you’re actually crying so that was a challenge.