Even as she’s raking in praise for her solid act in the Apple TV+ series Foundation, Kubbra Sait has gone ahead and lent her voice to the Audible India original Aakhri Sawaal: Interviews Before Execution, a fictional exploration of death row inmates, narrated by Kubbra’s Zarah Kaul. Over a video call, t2 caught up with Kubbra — who shot into the spotlight as the inimitable Kukoo in Sacred Games and is now going from strength to strength — on the new experience and how she has evolved as a performer.

Phara in Foundation. Zarah in Aakhri Sawaal. You have all the names cornered, right?

(Laughs out loud) You know, that’s a very interesting observation! What’s also interesting is none of these names point or lead towards a certain ethnicity, belief system or religion.

And that’s the power of a name in itself. Often, people ask me, ‘Oh, what does Kubbra mean? We have never heard of this name before’. It most certainly doesn’t sound Muslim. Names are emotions. They say that you carry the meaning of your name through your destiny. In that sense, these names — Phara, Zarah, Kubbra, Kukoo — have all opened up my destiny. And I cannot shy away from my destiny.

What is it about Aakhri Sawaal: Interviews Before Execution that got you interested?

The idea that we were creating a universe that was entirely based on imagination. I come from a radio background. And it was so incredible to go back, sit behind a mic and mouth these lines. It was during the second wave of the pandemic that we shot this and I had just come back from my long stint of shooting for Foundation (in Ireland and Malta) and there I was shooting with a lot of people. Both Aakhri Sawaal and Mine and Yours Season 2 (also on Audible) had scenes created where only I was in front of the mic, and I had no real cues as such with other actors.

Mantra, who has created the show, would end up reading the lines for all the actors. He knew how each of those actors had said it, and that’s the way he would give me the cues and I would react to them.

The whole idea was so fascinating to me. Just being in a room with one mic in front of you and when it is completed and all these layers of sound and textures are added, you feel that you are in a jail, or you feel that you are in New York City, you feel you are in your house, you feel like you are taking a dump, for God’s sake! (Laughs) I really didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

So it was challenging as well as exciting...

It was exciting for sure! It was wonderful to be associated with a show like Interviews Before Execution which is so ambitious. We were dealing with human psychology and I am playing a psychologist dealing with her own demons. It’s very different from anything I have ever done before. And when I was playing Raashi in Mine and Yours Season 2, then I was like, ‘Wow! Another twist to the LGBTQIA narrative’. But then again, it’s so deeply led by human emotions that you can’t shy away from it. I love how these characters have been made human, and it’s up to the audience to decide how you feel about them. There is enough conflict, drama and romance to make you feel a certain way while you are listening to these shows.

One would think that your experience in radio and as a host would come in handy here. But did this compel you to unlearn anything?

I had to refresh a lot of memories. Like, what’s the distance you need to have between you and the mic.... Also, technology is changing every day... it’s improved so much.... I am talking about the technology that I was using — in terms of the mixer and everything — that I was using 15 years ago. Things have drastically changed today.

It was lovely to learn more. I would have my favourite corner to record. The lunches were great, if you must know! I did this show just for the lunches (laughs).

For once, the lunches were free...

Yes, for once the lunches were free! (Laughs) And I remember towards the end of Interviews Before Execution, while I was playing Zarah, I bawled my eyes out and I could just feel all that she was feeling. I loved the writing, I was very comfortable with the medium and even when you aren’t using your body, you are actually using your body, and so many of your senses. Where does the voice land when it leaves your body... do you start from your stomach, chest or throat or do you start from the back of your head.... There were these incredible moments which I experienced while recording it.

I am someone who listens to a lot of audiobooks when I travel from Point A to Point B. While, of course, I do buy physical books, I also listen to a lot of material online. And to bring all these new ideas to a generation that is consuming things on the go and to keep them engaged, was a great experience.

The best thing is that I could wake up just five minutes before I was supposed to record because there was no hair and make-up and no costume trials to do (laughs).

In the first lockdown, I ended up doing something for Amazon (Prime Video) and it required us to put up ring lights, set up tripods and shoot at home. We had no help. We were dressing ourselves and ending up wearing the same costumes.

How do you think you have evolved as a performer over the years?

I think everything pushes you. Everything that makes you question your own belief system challenges you. As a performer, it’s not my business to decide right or wrong, or talk about black and white. It’s my business to be that person who plays that part in front of the camera.

I am also a performer who needs people around me, I need energy. I can’t wear my costume and sit in a vanity van for hours. If I am ready, I am ready and you need to take me and shoot. If I am ready, you need to make me work.

You shot Apple TV’s Foundation during the lockdown. It meant being away from home for months and working in a bio bubble in a faraway country. How much has that experience impacted you as a person and as an actor?

Oh, it was a lot of time alone! I was not the only one who was dealing with isolation issues. I was in a different country without food that I was familiar with. Salad kitna khayega aadmi?! (Laughs) I wanted dal and chawal. I found myself a local Pakistani grocery store where I would source my ingredients from and cook.

But I must also say that the time allowed me a lot of time to spend with myself without beating myself up. It also raised my consciousness to realise that I was in a place of privilege. You don’t think about these things unless you are thrown into an extraordinary situation. You are always hiding behind masks and chasing something that you don’t even know why you are chasing in the first place.

This time allowed me to get closer to myself. I used that time to write a memoir, and to reflect within and to weed out the bullshit and be as real as possible. Life, as a whole, is a journey... it’s present-continuous. I live and learn every day.