She 2: Imtiaz Ali, Arif Ali, Aaditi Pohankar on making their Netflix series 'darker, bolder and more courageous'

Will Bhumika Pardeshi (Bhumi) switch loyalties in the second season of She? Imtiaz Ali, Arif Ali and Aaditi Pohankar are letting fans play the guessing game. But before the crime drama drops online, the team shared a glimpse of what to expect from the action-packed project. Written and created by Imtiaz, She season 2 is directed by his brother Arif. The seven-episode season will see Pohankar reprising her role as Bhumi – an undercover constable who explores her bold side while discovering the secrets in the dark alleys of Mumbai’s underbelly. Excerpts from the interview The second season of She seems to be having many twists and turns. What can the viewers look forward to? Imtiaz: It will be darker, deeper, bolder and more courageous. I feel it’s a more intense season. I also feel there is a reverse of the expected journey. For instance, when you go into the world of darkness, you feel challenged and scared. But can you also feel powerful? Can you also feel more free? Can you feel that the world of darkness is making you more of yourself? These kinds of themes also run parallel. Pohankar: I would say that it’s quite a triumph for Bhumi to even take this one step that she has taken. It does lead her to many ways. If you are going to be courageous, it comes with a very big price. So do you have the stamina to face that? That’s what Bhumi is going to learn on her way as she moves forward in this season. Arif: Going by her experience, Bhumi is trying to figure out who she is. There is triumph and tribulation when it comes to that character. The first season was directed by Arif along with Avinash Das. How was it to go solo this time? Arif: In season 1, I was in great sync with Avinash and Imtiaz. It didn’t feel like it was any different this time. We were just shooting more number of days or (working on) various other aspects of Bhumi which I had not dealt with in the first season. I really enjoyed the wholesomeness of the whole thing, so it was much more intense. It was quite meditative in that way.

Pohankar also returned as Pammi in Aashram. What’s interesting about reprising roles that become fan favourites? Pohankar: I think it’s like press, pause and you begin again. First of all, leaving Bhumi is not very easy because once I start performing the part, it takes me a while to wash it off. I am so attracted to Bhumi. There’s so much courage. There’s something about Bhumi that I feel excited about. It’s always nice to go back to the character you have left in the first season. We have that opportunity in OTT. But at the same time, there’s a thin line between whether I will be playing it like the last time or will it go forward. So for me, that was the most challenging part. With my other character in Aashram, the same thing happened. She has gone way forward than where she was. After a point, I start thinking from their point of view, how the character would think, so it makes me comfortable thinking that this is how Bhumi will think rather than Aaditi will think. That’s the way I go about it otherwise it is very difficult to go back to the same life that I lived on that show in the first season. You have to start with a fresh mind otherwise it will get repetitive. Continuing a crime story from season 1 to 2 can be challenging. What went into making it gripping? Imtiaz: The first thought in my mind was that it was easy to reject season two of any show. I think the narrative is that season 2 is not as good as season one. It’s a very easy thing for anybody to think and say. So even before I started thinking about what I should do in season 2, I knew that the challenge is going to be more in season 2 or any subsequent season. I only wanted to make season two if I had something new, fresh and different to say in season two. Then I realised that the benefit that I have is that season one has only been the exposition of the circumstance and character of Bhumi. Season two can actually be the change and metamorphoses… the story now moving forward, so season one is just the introduction, I feel, and season two is the story. It’s like you discover something and then what happens with the discovery. I knew that I had something very substantial to say. Was Imtiaz thinking of season 3 as well or did he want to wrap it up after this season? Imtiaz: I wanted to do what was coming naturally for season 2. How these things work is that if season 2 is liked then a season 3 comes. I just wanted to write and make a good season 2 and then worry about season 3 later. Thanks to his romantic films like films Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Jab Harry Met Sejal, Imtiaz has been associated with powerful love stories. Why did he decide to enter the crime fiction space? Imtiaz: I had wanted to make She for a very long time, but I wasn’t able to fit it into a film in terms of duration. So I was very happy when this came along. I don’t see myself as a writer or a director of a particular genre. I am not married to any (genre). I am very happy that She came along and gave me a chance to write the kind of story that I knew I had, but hadn’t been able to showcase before. How did your pick your team? Imtiaz: Aaditi came on board when we started the process of casting. We auditioned many actors - known and new. I thought it would be very interesting if she played this part. And Arif, I have known him since he was a baby. I knew that since I have known him for so long, it would help me to hand over the reins of the story that I have written to him. Did it come as a surprise that Imtiaz was exploring a new genre? Arif: I wasn’t surprised because I knew its inception. He’s been thinking about this character, this world and story for a while. He had discussed it with me before he wrote it…even before the first draft of the initial story which was many years before it became She. With him, it always starts with the character. The world and everything is there, but for him it’s about the soul of the character at first, so that was very interesting. That’s what made me eager to do the show ultimately. She season 2 will stream on Netflix from 17 June Natalia Ningthoujam is a Manipur-based journalist. She knows how to smoothly switch from being a fan to a writer whenever needed. She tweets at @nattynick.

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