Richa Chadha on playing a cop in ‘The Great Indian Murder’: One of the most upfront characters I’ve ever played

Actress Richa Chadha, who essays the role of an honest investigating officer in “The Great Indian Murder”, on Tuesday said the role is a departure from some of her previous characters, which were not to be underestimated like in the upcoming Disney Plus Hotstar thriller series. , Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, Whodunnit is an adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s acclaimed novel “Six Suspects”, which revolves around the murder of a high-profile minister’s son. The show also features “Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta” star Prateek Gandhi.

Chadha, known for her performances in films such as the “Gangs of Wasseypur” series, the “Fukrey” franchise and “Masaan”, said her only brief to portray DCP Sudha Bharadwaj for Dhulia with “a lot of dignity”. had a role to play.

“But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a sense of humor or that she won’t have a lighter moment in her life when something tragic happens in her personal life. I created the character with those nuances in mind.

“I haven’t really had a chance to play straight-up, ‘normal’ characters. They’re either outrageous, extremely rural or own a gang… but this is probably the most straight, straight character I’ve played. is one.” Chadha told reporters during the virtual trailer launch of the show.

The 35-year-old actress said that when she embodied the character, it gave her a sense of direction as an artist about the way she approached her scenes. With “The Great Indian Murder”, Chadha said, it was important for him to keep his performance subtle.

“My character guided me in which direction to go. It is difficult for actors because you are always asked to create something new. Sometimes it is extremely difficult to just sit there. Here, I play the role of an investigator. So it’s all about my eyes, I have to read between the lines, understand what people are saying and what they mean. For the character to understand and perform in this male (dominant) world It was tough.”

At the press conference, Gandhi along with the actor, who plays Central Bureau of Investigation officer Suraj Yadav, worked with Chadha’s Bharadwaj to uncover the murder mystery. Gandhi said he was curious as to how the show deviated from the book and came up with two new characters, Him and Chaddha. The series has been written by Dhulia, Vijay Maurya and Puneet Sharma.

“It was an extremely challenging and interesting character. Richa and my character are not part of the book, they were written specifically for ‘The Great Indian Murder’. It was exciting for me because after reading the book, when I read Started the script, I was thrilled how they took the story forward. I had ample opportunities to play those layers with humour,” he said.

Swarup said that “Six Suspects” was a “complicated” book to translate on screen because the perspectives of the suspects – each of whom represented a different section of society – kept changing.

The writer lauded the team for not compromising on the scale of the show and said that the story required new characters to act as narrators.

“The characters of Richa and Prateek have been added, because in a show, you have to have a ‘sutradhar’ (narrator), which you don’t need in a subplot. A book has subplots, interior monologues, but one screen for you. face, which goes from point A to B, C,” he added.

‘The Great Indian Murder’ also stars Raghubir Yadav, Ashutosh Rana, Sharib Hashmi, Amey Wagh, Jatin Goswami, Shashank Arora and Paoli Dam.

The show is backed by actor Ajay Devgn and producer Preeti Vinay Sinha, who have produced the series for Disney+ Hotstar under their banners ADF and RLE Media.

The series is scheduled to release on 4 February.