‘It was exciting to work with Tigmanshu Dhulia, it is every actor's dream’: Richa Chadha, Pratik Gandhi on The Great Indian Murder

When Richa Chadha and Pratik Gandhi were offered to play investigating officers on a high profile killing in the upcoming thriller  The Great Indian Murder  (an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s bestselling novel Six Suspects), both the actors initially wondered how they would play their parts as their characters don’t exist in the book. Their characters were created when the book was adapted for the screen. But that didn’t bother them as they were excited to collaborate with the show director Tigmanshu Dhulia, who, the actors feel is one of the best to helm the intriguing mystery. “When you are working with Tigmanshu who is also one of the writers of the show, I didn’t have to worry about the mystery part because that was already there in the script,” says Chadha. The Great Indian Murder is a vast story as it explores the lives and motives of six suspects and following them through the length and breadth of the country. There are several versions surrounding the murder of Vicky Rai, the 32-year-old owner of the Rai Group of Industries and son of a minister (played by Ashutosh Rana). Each character comes under the radar of the case’s investigating officers DCP Sudha Bhardwaj (Chadha) and Suraj Yadav (Gandhi) of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “I had read the book long ago and for me it’s so amazing how the book, a page turner, is turned into a screenplay that leaves each episode on a cliff-hanger. The whole cast is spot on. I was curious to see how my character turns out and so I read the entire script in one go. My character doesn’t exist in the book but for me it was exciting to work with Tigmanshu. It is every actor’s dream…when we enter the industry and when we are struggling, that is one of the doors you definitely knock," says Chadha. The series also stars Ashutosh Rana, Shashank Arora, Raghubir Yadav, Paoli Dam and Jatin Goswami in pivotal roles. Gandhi says he was advised to not read the book but wait for the final script. “I asked the director if I should read the book and he said, ‘No, don’t read the book because your character is not there in the book’. He told me to wait for the final script which, like the book, was also a page turner. I finished the whole script in one go,” says the Scam 1992 actor, who did a lot of prep with Dhulia. “I discussed a lot with him. He has created these characters and I wanted to know where his thoughts came from. My character is from Uttar Pradesh and he comes from different strata socially. He has come up the rank very fast, he is an IPS officer. I worked around that so that the character comes alive. The way he talks, his body language, his sarcasm…I worked on all that. The story is about one murder and multiple suspects and their back stories, their lives, it is not that we have shot with everybody but looking at the stellar cast I was so happy that I will be part of something really big,” says Gandhi. While both Chadha and Gandhi love thrillers, they also point out the challenges as actors they face in this genre, “The most fascinating part about the murder mysteries, suspense is that you know the whole script as an actor, you have read everything and now you have to play as if you are searching the answers. Lot of time I have seen in shows, in films…you see that pre-emption, a little anticipation right from the beginning on actors’ faces that something serious is going to happen or is happening. You have to take that out from your system, from your subconscious and play it as if it is happening live and real. That is the job of the actors but because you are in that position and that too in the long format it becomes very complex but it is an interesting challenge. Audience always wants to go one step ahead in the script because they want to guess and they also love to fail. It is a game,” says Gandhi. “It was like exploring mystery in degrees because we were all shooting in pockets. Pratik and I were shooting in Delhi, Mumbai, whereas other actors were going from city to city as per the novel,” adds Chadha.

Chadha, who broke out in the industry a decade ago with Anurag Kashyap’s two-part crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur and went on to earn acclaim for her diverse performances, says that she was insecure about being lost in the show, “Not because all the actors are very good but because I don’t get many sober and straight up characters to play and this one is very straight up and restrained. For most people who will watch it will feel, ‘Arre yaar in this you have not acted only’. Those dialogues with a punch, the jokes are not there but I enjoyed playing my character because it was like an anchoring force. Both our characters are taking the story forward, we are the narrator of the story. It is a very sahaj kirdaar,” she says. “But the dynamics between Pratik and me was very interesting to play with. He keeps insulting me that this is my case and I can get rid of you, so what if you are two year senior to me, I am in-charge…though he would be very respectful on my face. It is like two politicians talking. There is also the dynamic of male and female,” adds Chadha. Chadha and Gandhi attribute their “instant off screen camaraderie” essentially to their theatre background which they feel led to great on screen chemistry. “It is not a chemistry of two lovers, it is a very angry chemistry and that will also keep you hooked. It is fun to create that with another fellow actor, especially from stage. Pratik brings the gravitas that the character needs. You can see in his eyes that some double game is going on, there is always a calculation…Is this person guilty? Is he not? What can I do to get my job? What can I do to make my stand clear but also remind this woman about the hierarchy? I thoroughly enjoyed working with him,” says Chadha. “As an actor Richa is very intuitive, she doesn’t mug up lines when she comes on sets. She always creates that moment and that is an absolute theatre process, so I enjoyed that because I also resonate the same thing, same understanding, same thought process.,” says Gandhi. For Gandhi, who rose to fame with  Scam 1992 , it was important to make the best choice for his next web series. “This one worked out the best for me because of a lot of reasons. The script itself, the character, director, cast.. The biggest attraction for me is the story. How I fit into the whole story. What value I can add, what learnings can I get…This may sound very bookish but it has always worked for me even in theatres. I have kept that understanding with me and I don’t want to corrupt my thoughts and my instinct. I like to do maximum experiments with different characters so that I keep exploring and I can surprise the audience each time. Otherwise I will cage myself in my thoughts and it will be very difficult to come out,” says Gandhi who has quite a few projects lined up. “I am currently shooting for Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan, with Taapsee Pannu. Then there is Dedh Bigha Zameen and Atithi Bhooto Bhava. It is an exciting year for me. The industry has embraced me, I couldn’t have asked for more,” he says. Chadha is turning producer and writer this year besides working on the third instalment of Fukrey, “Fukrey is mad again but it is bigger and better. I will do another show some time in summer followed by a foreign feature and then I will get on to the film that Ali (Fazal) and I are producing. I am exploring myself as a creative person, as a writer, as a producer and of course, as an actor,” concludes Chadha. Produced by Ajay Devgn and Priti Vinay Sinha, The Great Indian Murder starts streaming on Disney + Hotstar from 4 February.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.