She made an impact in Season 2 of Breathe, co-starring Abhishek Bachchan, Nithya Menen and Amit Sadh, standing out for her refreshing portrayal of a gay woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and live life on her own terms. The Telegraph chats with Shruti Bapna, who plays Natasha on the Amazon Prime Video show.

What made you want to play Natasha?

She’s a homosexual woman, and we haven’t really seen many characters like this on the Indian screen. It was very important for me to know how people felt watching Natasha on screen. People hailing from the LGBTQ community have expressed how Natasha made them feel empowered in a way. A lot of times, such characters have been mocked or stereotyped. But here, in terms of how it was written and how I performed Natasha, it came through very well.

Were there any apprehensions when you set out, because a character could be written one way on paper, but the execution could be completely different?

I had a bit of an apprehension, especially when I heard of that one scene (in which Natasha has to kiss Abha, played by Nithya Menen).

But I didn’t really focus too much on that because I knew that this was an Amazon (Prime Video) show and involved big names. I knew what kind of a show it is and what kind of intention they had for the character.

There is an emotion attached to the character, which is lust, and that’s what results in her undoing and she ends up in that pit. I knew that the kissing scene had a backstory and was not just put in to grab eyeballs. I felt it was justified and I knew I was in safe hands. I knew it would be sensitively shot and handled in the right way.

It was all very organic for me. As prep, I tried getting into the psychology of a homosexual woman, and when I did that, the process of becoming Natasha became very natural and comfortable for me. I let things flow.

Sexuality aside, Natasha is a woman who’s very sure of herself and isn’t afraid to show the world who she is. Did you identify with these aspects of her?

Partly, yes. Also, the fact that she’s an urban woman. Before this, most of the characters I played were sari-clad, middle-class women. Or I have played a cop in uniform. I felt closer to Natasha because she’s urban, confident, self-made and successful. To develop her into more, I had to understand how homosexual women feel and think. And that made me look at women differently.

Do all the roles you play require as much work from you?

Prep happens in different ways. For the cop I played in Mardaani 2, I worked on the dialect because she was from Rajasthan. For Natasha, I wanted the confidence and comfort to reflect on screen. Every character I play enriches me in some way and I also give a part of myself to every part I play.