Female first

Drashti Dhami plays a cop in the crime thriller

Over a year after its opening season, Drashti Dhami, Gulshan Devaiah and Amit Sadh-starrer Duranga is back with its second instalment. In the ZEE5 crime thriller created by Goldie Behl, Dhami plays the role of inspector Ira, who grapples with the revelation that her husband is a serial killer. Considering a series requires actors to reprise their roles after a gap that can extend from months to sometimes years, was it difficult for Dhami to remember the beats of her character, the second time around? "Not really," she says, before adding, "It was the same character, and all the actors were back on set with the same motion. We did a lot of readings. So, it wasn't difficult to come back after a break."

Dhami has been a popular face on television since featuring in Dill Mill Gaye, in 2007. She went on to front several successful shows, from Geet Hui Sabse Parayi to Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon. Having made the leap to digital entertainment, she is glad that like the small screen, the OTT space has begun to capitalise on the talent of female actors. She says, "Women playing the lead should have happened long ago. In television, actresses were anyway the protagonists, and now, it's happening on OTT as well."