‘Director Debaloy Bhattacharya told me that he didn’t want me to smile. He said I wasn’t going to be a nice person on set,’ recounts actress Tanya Maniktala, who stars as the lead in the detective drama series P.I. Meena streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In an exclusive chat, Tanya opened up about her experience of being P.I. Meena, what she learnt from Mira Nair and her journey as an actor.

Did you take an instant liking to the script when P.I. Meena was offered to you?

Tanya Maniktala: When the episodes came to me, I read the script first and then I had a narration with the show creator Arindam (Mitra) sir. As an actor, you get to read so many scripts but they don’t always get your attention. As a reader, I am also thinking about what I want to watch. So, when I read P.I. Meena’s script, it was so gripping that I had to read all the episodes in one go. I was constantly trying to imagine how this world was going to play out on screen.

I told Arindam sir, ‘What you have written is so complex, layered and has textures to it that I don’t know how it is going to translate on screen. But I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and if you think that you’re capable of delivering this vision of yours, I want to be associated with it.’

And what about your character Meenakshi Iyer?

Tanya Maniktala: I loved the story instantly. But when it came to the character, it took me time because there is nothing special about this girl. If she passes by you, you won’t even notice her. Yet, when I kept reading the script, there was this drive to her, there was this madness to her. She was unlike any other character I had read. She was not perfect. She was so flawed. While I read the script, I wondered why she didn’t behave like a normal person.

Meenakshi has a past that weighs on her. We say that the weight is only as heavy as the one who is pushing it shows it to be. And Meenakshi shows the weight. She knows that she has had a heavy past but she is not a victim. She carries herself with grace in the most ungraceful way I’ve ever seen. She is a woman of integrity. She is a woman of principles. And it’s so ironic because she is constantly breaking the rules. She is so flawed, angsty and fidgety. She has irritation and many other things about her that can repel you but she accepts those things.

There’s such self-awareness to her that I am these things and if you want to be around me then that’s a choice I give you. And that sense of being so wholly yourself was so beautiful to me because we live in a world where we are constantly trying to fit in. She doesn’t change who she is because of the gaze that’s been put on her. And that thing about her was something I felt I needed in myself.

Did you try to do anything different while preparing for this role?

Tanya Maniktala: I started kathak classes because I had to change my body language. As actors, we think about the physicality of a character and how to change it. You’re not presented with that opportunity all the time. Meenakshi can never be Tanya because you can see the difference in their physicality. Meenakshi stomps, her walk is different from mine. The pace in which she talks is also very different. Even the way she would turn is very different.

We have given her wired earphones, so she is constantly fiddling with them. Arindam sir had written the character with what was going on in her mind. The physicality was for us to create. Director Debaloy Bhattacharya told me, ‘I don’t want you to smile. You are not going to be a nice person on set.’ It was very difficult for me to control who I am and let Meenakshi take over. I can play shades of Tanya, but letting this angst grow within me was such a challenge. I hoped it would translate on screen.

How was your experience of shooting in Kolkata, especially during the pandemic?

Tanya Maniktala: It was a harrowing time because there was never just one battle. Obviously, there was the risk of getting exposed to the virus. As a creative artist, you cannot always be protected because you’re doing so many things, exposed to so many people and areas.

All of us got Covid during the second wave and we were stuck in Calcutta for a while. We got Covid tests done every day. There was a Covid chief officer on set who would ensure that everybody around the actors wore the PPE kit. It was hot. So, doing all those things and having a needle poked through your nose every day takes a toll on you mentally as well.

But we were working on something bigger than all of us, so everybody was together in it. I got Covid, the director got Covid, and the production people got Covid. The shooting had to be halted. But we kept rolling through these hurdles and I hope that the end result is worth it.

Did you get time to indulge in the city’s culture and food after things returned to normal?

Tanya Maniktala: During our main shoot, I was totally into Meenakshi, so I did not indulge in anything else. But yes, during our patchwork shoot, when we were back in the city for a few days, I was a bit more relaxed. I could be Meenakshi without losing myself. So, I did enjoy the city. We would go out for dinner because our team was full of foodies. Calcutta is a place for food, so we would have great dinners and lunches. Everyone used to look forward to, ‘Aaj khane mein kya hai?’

Your first big show A Suitable Boy was directed by Mira Nair. What did that experience do for you as an actor?

Tanya Maniktala: The most beautiful thing about working with Mira-di was how grounded she was. She is all heart. We live in a cut-throat world. Yet being brave enough to put yourself out there is something she still does. She taught me that no matter what, if you believe in something, just go for it. Somewhere you will find the people who are meant for you. Keep showing up for yourself. Having worked with her, I learnt that I’d always be learning. Because she is still learning. She once told me, ‘Tanya, I want the world to see the world I have to offer.’ That spirit has stayed with me.

Did the instant popularity of TVF’s Flames ever go into your head?

Tanya Maniktala: Actually, no. It wasn’t that instant. Flames happened when I was in college. That teenage thing was there — ‘I have done this. Now, everything will be set.’ But it humbled me so much because… I am such a hypocrite [chuckles]… I was like Flames won’t do much but, in my heart, I hoped that it would do it for me.

Even though I had no plans of acting, I really hoped that Flames would take off the way I wanted it to and I’d be the next big thing. But it was very humbling because Flames did none of those things. It became popular and received a lot of love much later. I was still going for auditions and getting rejected. I still get a lot of love for Flames but I don’t think it ever got to my head because how can love go to your head? Love goes to your heart!

Your debut feature film Mumbaikar was released on JioCinema. What kind of films do you want to do on the big screen?

Tanya Maniktala: I am a Shah Rukh Khan fan. I wear that person on my sleeve. His heart is [blushes]… it’s that. I would love to do a love story. I also want to do a horror film. I really enjoy the genre. There’s so much that we haven’t explored in horror. I really want to try that. But a love story for sure, maybe with Shah Rukh Khan [blushes again].

What are your favourite detective dramas?

Tanya Maniktala: Definitely, Sherlock Holmes. I love reading Agatha Christie. When it comes to Indian detectives, Byomkesh Bakshi was the first thing I watched and loved. I have yet to explore many female detectives.

An actor can get instant visibility because of OTT platforms but sustaining that visibility is a tough task. Have you ever felt the pressure or fear of getting lost in the talent pool on OTT?

Tanya Maniktala: I would be lying if I said that I have never felt it. When you see such mad talent around you, you start doubting yourself. Am I good enough? You have to realise that this is mad talent, but that doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. Work on yourself. What’s stopping you? That realisation pushed me to hone my craft. I am not up against anybody. I am up against only myself.

If I am not able to bring something new to the table, then obviously it is going to go to somebody else. So, sharpen your skills. You will get what is due to you. Appreciate the talent around you instead of taking it as a threat because it’s so easy to get lost in this world. We live in a world where we’re taken only at face value. Who am I at the core of myself? When these questions came up, I started appreciating the people around me.