From starring in indie darlings Masaan and Haraamkhor to super successful OTT shows Mirzapur and Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen, Shweta Tripathi Sharma has carved a niche for herself as an actor. In her latest release Kaalkoot on JioCinema, she plays an acid attack survivor. In a candid conversation, the ever-so-cheerful Shweta talked to us about what got her interested in Kaalkoot, how she chooses the characters she plays and her aspirations as an actor.

What are your thoughts when you take up a character to play?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: The most important thing for me is my emotional connection with the character. Because to do justice to the character or the story and how the writer and the director see it, I need to have that connection with the character. If my instinct says yes, then I do it. Every time you play a character, you give it a part of you and you take a part of it. So, when the work is going to be that personal, it needs to mean something to me.

I would choose Masaan, Haraamkhor and Laakhon Mein Ek over and over again because I got into acting to tell such stories. At the beginning of my career, people used to talk to me about ‘commercial cinema’. How is that a benchmark of anything? Because I am happy. Would I like to do more? Yes, hundred per cent. I will do a commercial story but the most important thing is what are we trying to say through that story. That, for me, is a priority.

What drew you towards Parul Chaturvedi in the JioCinema series Kaalkoot?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: We are quick to pass judgment on someone or do their character assassination. And while reading the script, even I did that. I judged Parul. There’s a particular scene where I reacted ‘Arey yaar yeh kyun hua?’ Then I realised that writer Sumit Saxena has managed to make me feel like that. And I think I’m an educated, outspoken woman who’s not afraid of anything and I think I don’t judge so easily. But I did. So, I felt that I need to do justice to Parul. To play somebody who’s going through that journey and character graph drew me towards it.

How did you prepare for the role of Parul Chaturvedi who is an acid attack survivor?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: I met people who have been at the receiving end of the acid attack. I used to call them victims earlier. But after meeting them I realised they are survivors because that’s what they call themselves and rightfully so.

Acid attack is a crime of entitlement, that you think that you have the right to punish somebody and you think that you need to take matters in your own hands. That becomes problematic.

I met the survivors. They love makeup, they love making reels, and they have so much strength. Because they’re not just looking at the mirror, they’re seeing themselves in someone else’s eyes too.

I did Kaalkoot because I wanted to be part of a show that starts a conversation. This is where we normalise talking about things that we hide away from. What is patriarchy? What is feminism? If the same thing happens to a man, is it okay? No! We have to start treating each other with respect. It is a world of live and let live. But how many of us actually follow this?

When I met the survivors, it was sad to know that the ones who committed this crime, most of them were married and had children. It is not a fair world but come on, basic humanity? When will the toxic behaviours which we entertain end? How bad does it have to be for us to take notice?

In fact, after the Kaalkoot shoot, when I was shooting in Banaras for another project, whenever I used to see jalebis and samosas being fried on the street, I used to get scared because it’s so easy to hurt someone with that boiling oil. But what about after that? That’s what all of us have to individually see.

As you said earlier, every character gives you something and takes something away from you. What did Parul Chaturvedi give and take?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: A lot of strength. What I love about Parul is that she does not let the opinions of others bother her. Even if it bothers her, she does not let that decide what she wants to be. Do what you feel is right, definitely reflect on that, because you might change your mind. Life is a journey; you shouldn’t put yourself under pressure to do 10/10 every day. Don’t let anyone take your dreams away from you is what I have taken away from Parul.

What are your aspirations and ambitions at this point in life?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: I just want to tell more stories that resonate with people. I want to tell stories that raise the bar of our understanding of our emotional being. All of us live in our own bubble. Thanks to art and cinema, we get to know that there’s another world outside this bubble when we see something like Laakhon Mein Ek or Paatal Lok or Kohrra. There are people who exist beyond our bubble and their lives are equally important. So, for me, it is that investigation of human emotions that I’m interested in.

After being part of a super successful show like Mirzapur, did you feel any pressure to ‘fit in’ in the film industry and how it usually functions?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: It’s up to you whether to take that pressure or not. I take it as a responsibility rather than a pressure that there’s an audience that’s waiting for my work to come out. And I would always want that audience to be excited – what’s next she’s going to do?

There are people who have been appreciative of my work and they share their feedback. I am open to feedback — good, bad and ugly — because that’s how we grow.

Mirzapur is so huge and I’m glad that I’m a part of it. Not only because of the kind of audience it has given me but also the kind of people that I worked with. I am very close to the cast and crew and it is a very special project because whenever we even go for its shoot, we feel that we owe this to our audience, to our fans, and also to Guddu and Golu. That’s also a responsibility that I like to take up wholeheartedly.

Which roles played by you have been revelations for you as an actor?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: The journey is different with every character whether it is Shalu from Masaan or Sandhya from Haraamkhor. I like to play characters that are further away from who I am as a person. I am living my life as Shweta anyway. How many and what kinds of other lives I can live as an actor is where my interest lies.

In Laakhon Mein Ek, I played a doctor who is posted in a rural village. Everyone wants to be a hero but the kind of situations you’re faced with and the choices you have defines your core. I like to play characters that behave well under difficult circumstances. I’m genuinely very fond of all the girls that I have played. They’re so beautiful and they inspire me every day.

Is there an emotion that you struggle with while acting?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: Happywala emotion. When you’re in a bad mood but you have to act happy. That’s the most difficult emotion for me. I remember in Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen, Tahir Raj Bhasin and I had to do a romantic scene; it was 40 degrees Celsius. There was not a single romantic leaf that was moving. I used to ask writer-director Siddharth Sengupta where he got the shot the way he wanted. Because at that time you don’t know. On top of that, Siddharth sir and Tahir had a fever. Your co-actor is sweating and you’re romancing him, which is sometimes difficult.

After Kaalkoot, what are we going to see you in next?

Shweta Tripathi Sharma: The shoot of Mirzapur Season 3 is complete and the show is in post-production. Hopefully, in the next month or so, the shoot of Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen Season 2 shall begin.