As The Mystery Runs Deep In The Second Season Of 'Duranga', We Chat Exclusively With Gulshan Deviah And Drashti Dhami To Discuss The Darker Shades Of The Key Characters And The Complexities In The Narrative Of The Already Celebrated Endeavour. Take A Look!
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 Subscribe to our channel, press the bell icon and never miss an update from LatestLeak.
00:05 Subscribe to our channel, press the bell icon and never miss an update from LatestLeak.
00:31 Alright then, enter the dark world of Duranga in its second season.
00:35 The first season was great. Of course and have samosa. You are just breaking the narrative and you are making it funnier.
00:41 This is supposed to be horror. It's a popcorn machine. She is panic eating because I have to leave in 10 minutes.
00:46 Okay, with my intro going for an absolute toss, let me introduce Gulshan and Darshti.
00:52 Thank you so much for joining me with samosa and coffee. Thank you for letting me eat.
00:56 He is the only person who has been nice to me. He is like, you can eat in this segment. Please go for it.
01:00 Nice faces require nice treatment. Thank you so much.
01:03 So, first up, we are going into the second season. Obviously, there is expectation, burden and excitement.
01:10 I am asking this question because the equation can change between the two actors. How does it happen?
01:15 No, there was no such equation. We had a good relationship. It was a good experience to work together in season 1.
01:21 We took care of each other and that got carried over in season 2. There was no pressure at all.
01:27 I was a little scared about myself that I don't want to be complacent because Duranga season 1 was very much appreciated.
01:34 People liked it a lot. And there was excitement. It was already there that season 2 is coming because the story was incomplete.
01:41 People knew that the story of Aagyav was left. So, there was excitement. But we didn't take any pressure. So, that was it.
01:50 When it comes to a woman playing a cop, there is this urge to play this mardani or this cop who kicks some serious butt.
01:58 To move away from that image, what preparation goes into it?
02:02 I didn't watch that firstly because we have not watched the show also, the Korean version of it.
02:10 I never had in my mind that I am going to play the cop in a certain manner. I just thought I have to play a cop.
02:18 A cop is also a person only. Absolutely.
02:21 And when you wear the clothes and you get into the attire, I have never worn those things on screen.
02:26 Or in real life also. I don't remember wearing sport shoes, denims with a tight t-shirt and a shirt and walking around for a coffee or a movie.
02:33 So, it just felt like a different attire. You just feel strong wearing that attire.
02:38 It was so weird that on set also, the costume chicks, every time I would walk out wearing that.
02:44 They would say, "You change your attire after wearing the clothes." I would say, "I just feel it. I feel it in the air that suddenly I am a cop."
02:52 But even to play that, did you have a reference?
02:55 I don't think I had any reference. I actually didn't. We did a lot of pre-production.
03:05 Reading, rehearsals and all.
03:07 We used to keep telling me, "Stand, sit." I wore a dress and I went one day for rehearsal and Goldie was like,
03:14 "Can you wear some denims and shirts and all and come now for rehearsal?"
03:18 So that you get into the mood and I'm like, "Yeah, fair enough."
03:21 So, started wearing more of the denims and the loose t-shirts and shirts with shoes.
03:25 We used to do a lot of rehearsals also. We used to do table reads or rehearsals.
03:29 In those also, there was a little bit of language. You know, people are telling you that.
03:33 So, yeah, it was different and it was fun and I think I did a pretty good job.
03:37 Gulshan, I remember how extensively you described the term 'Duranga' because I did not know how to capture the essence of it.
03:43 'Duranga', 'Two Rang', 'Dho Kala'.
03:45 Yeah, exactly. But the way we see it unfold is not just two Rang or two colours or two dimensions.
03:51 There are so many layers that are coming to the fore. So, in that sense, do we need to change the title of it?
03:58 No, no. There are two Rang and then there are different shades of Rang. So, basically, that's it.
04:04 But we see so many dimensions.
04:06 And I think, in season two, there are two Rang coming out of everyone's character.
04:09 Absolutely.
04:10 So, as the story progresses in season two, the reference that we were talking about is their character.
04:16 So, the more complicated it is, the more complicated and complex the actor's preparation becomes.
04:23 No, I didn't keep it that complicated. I didn't feel the need to.
04:28 But I think, the preparation for season one was very strong.
04:33 So, it was just a matter of revision. Just to remind yourself where you were, what you did, what preparation you had for that character.
04:42 The journey was a little different because it is very emotional.
04:46 You start feeling it. A person who can't feel things, who can't express emotions, but he is feeling it now.
04:55 He is feeling it in a very intense way.
04:57 And sometimes, for the first time, after so much age, you feel something that you don't know about.
05:03 So, obviously, it's like crazy. You don't know how to deal with it.
05:05 That's the whole thing. But because it was a pre-preparation, it was not that very difficult.
05:11 It's a complex layered character, definitely. And it hides it.
05:16 It increases the complexity of the level where you are not showing your emotions.
05:21 But at the same time, it should seem interesting.
05:24 The audience should be intrigued about who is this, what is this?
05:27 It shouldn't be dull or boring.
05:29 And also, we played the season one, so we knew where we are taking the graph, right?
05:33 Because we are living it.
05:34 Absolutely. You two are on a roll. Gulshan, what a year this has been.
05:39 She says that we should frame 2023 like this.
05:43 I told him, you should get a calendar of 2023 and you should keep it for the rest of your life
05:47 because that's going to be the best year of your life.
05:49 And beyond that, life and beyond that.
05:51 But do you look at projects now? Because in our last conversation, you had categorically mentioned,
05:56 Gulshan, that it could be scary and because it can get boring.
06:00 So, you do not want to choose projects that can take you on that trajectory.
06:03 So, consciously give me a project in which my streak will be intact.
06:08 No, no, no. I am not going to take any pressure.
06:12 All this happened organically because of the way I approach things.
06:17 I genuinely have an interest in a story, in a character and in some people who want to work with me.
06:23 If I don't have a genuine interest, I don't do it.
06:26 It should be good for me, my craft and my career also.
06:29 There is no need to calculate more than this.
06:32 Like the streak of India-Pakistan. It will break one day.
06:36 This streak should not take much stress.
06:39 It has already broken once.
06:40 No, no, the streak of the World Cup.
06:42 It has already broken once.
06:43 It's 8-20 in the count.
06:44 They are not taking it in the count.
06:46 So, all that does not really matter for me.
06:52 I just want to do things that are interesting to me and that are good for my career
06:56 and that my career goes in a forward direction.
06:58 Lovely, good.
06:59 Rashti, this huge force to reckon with on television landscape and then we see you doing this
07:05 large than life character in Empire.
07:08 OTT is working in your favour. How do you see it?
07:13 Touch wood. It's welcomed me very nicely.
07:15 I guess I'm blessed to have one of those actors who has done just two shows
07:21 and the second show has already had a season two.
07:23 Hopefully, my first show also has a season two which doesn't look like it, Empire.
07:29 So, yeah, it's been a good journey till now.
07:35 Though I'm so used to working, you know, because when you do TV, you're so used to working every day
07:41 that now from there I'm working like half a year or maybe a little less than half a year
07:45 and I don't understand that because I just want to do something and I don't know what I want to do
07:52 but gradually I'm learning the art of vegetation and I think I've excelled in it
07:57 better than any other thing that I've done till now.
07:59 But yes, having said that, I'm looking forward to what's more in store for me
08:05 and I hope some nice, nice shows and nice, nice people call me for nice, nice work.
08:11 Inshallah, tataastu.
08:12 My last question, going forward, season two, it looks more mysterious, scarier, darker.
08:20 So, in that sense, while going in, do you have any reference points in your mind?
08:25 Do you see something like this on OTT? Do you read it?
08:28 And do you take reference from there? Do you polish it?
08:30 Is there a need to do something like this for this?
08:32 Especially when you have to Indianize, do you come in that context?
08:36 In the script, Mr. Charu had already done that.
08:39 We just had to Indianize.
08:40 And Goldie was also very clear of the adaptation and all that.
08:44 And all the directors who've been part of this also, they were very, they were on board
08:48 and they were very clear with what they wanted to do.
08:50 So, there was no need for reference points.
08:53 And I don't even want to keep them because I didn't want to be influenced.
08:56 And the same reason, she didn't want to be influenced by reference points,
08:59 particularly if it was the same show, seeing that.
09:01 Maybe it helps some people, but we didn't want to be influenced
09:04 and we wanted to have our own take on these characters.
09:09 So, we started this interview with three samosas on the platter
09:11 and we are finishing on the note of just one gone.
09:14 That means we finish in just seven and a half, eight minutes.
09:16 Thank you so much for joining us on this.
09:19 And I hope you achieve what you want to achieve with season two.
09:21 Thank you so much.
09:23 (whooshing)