Playing the antagonist

Sheetal

Actor Indraneil Sengupta is the latest addition to the cast of Aarya, a Disney Hotstar original. He portrays the character of Sooraj, one of the antagonists in the third season. Excited about the series, Indraneil shares, “Aarya has more challenges this season. It’s going to be more action for the viewers.”

While in season two Sooraj’s name was brought up by the makers, it was only in season three that Indraneil joined in. Sooraj is the husband of Nandani, who accidentally died because of Aarya and in season three he has landed from overseas with the sole purpose of taking revenge from Aarya.

Indraneil says, “Sooraj does not belong to a drug cartel or gangster family. He was living a happy and peaceful life abroad. Suddenly because of his wife’s death, he becomes a different person.”

All praise for creator Ram Madhvani and his team, Sengupta admits it’s probably for the first time that he had agreed to do a workshop before the shoot. He explains, “Director Kapil Sharma handled all my scenes and I loved how they kept pushing everybody until they got it right.”

Being subtle

Sengupta played a bisexual character in Bengali film Arekti Premer Golpo way back in 2008. Cut to post-Covid era where one sees in the face LGBTQIA representation, sometimes even forced, in a plot, Sengupta draws a contrast. He shares, “I really think when the LGBTQIA character is introduced subtly in the narrative, it’s more acceptable. LGBTQIA identity should not be a glaring fact about that character. In Aarya, Vikas Kumar, who plays ACP Khan, is gay but that is never forced in the narrative; it’s organic.”

Sengupta, who is more into inclusivity, says, “When there is a hot topic, people exploit it to the fullest. But when you try to exploit it, you absolutely dilute it and make a mockery of it, which is not how it should be.”

Blurring lines

One thing that he is worried about when it comes to OTT and its future, is the bridge that’s being built between OTT and television. He opines, “OTT space should not be mixed with television. However, OTT is also moving towards a television kind of sensibility, which is a little sad.”

On the work front, he awaits the release of second season of Zee5 series Mithya and a yet-untitled Bengali film. At times, Sengupta feels he is a little interested in film-making but then he thinks he is not equipped for it. “I think it needs a lot of work behind the scenes. That time has not come yet,” he signs off.