Sonakshi Sinha is raking in the praise for her debut web series Dahaad. Slipping quite seamlessly into the skin of the tough-as-nails cop Anjali Bhaati in the Prime Video winner, Sonakshi brings a certain physicality as well as personality to the part that has made audiences sit up and take notice. With Dahaad bringing in the numbers even close to two weeks after release, TT caught up with an elated Sonakshi for a chat.

Dahaad has turned out to be huge. For you, what’s been the most overwhelming bit of the last two weeks?

The number of compliments that have been coming in and how much people have loved the character (of Anjali Bhaati). My phone, to be honest, hasn’t stopped ringing since the day Dahaad dropped. I have had actors, directors, friends, friends of friends calling and messaging.... My father (actor Shatrughan Sinha) has been forwarding me so many messages that his colleagues have sent him.

The way the show has broken out and reached out to so many people, in itself, is so overwhelming. Dahaad has been truly special to all of us associated with it. It was so dear to us, and to see this kind of payoff is just unreal! I am loving it, I am soaking it all in right now (laughs).

The beauty of having a long format is that you can develop every character as the show progresses... that’s not possible in the short format of a film. In a series, one has a lot of freedom because one is typically making three films in one, right? You can stay with a character that much longer... the writers have the graph of showing what they really want to get across to the audience.

That’s also what happened with Dahaad. All the characters have a well-written graph and the viewer gets to see where every character starts and ends. What I saw on paper is what I feel we managed to get exactly out, if not more. Full props to the writers of the show... they are the real heroes.

Were there any particular reasons why you did Dahaad which have been validated by the reactions of the audience?

Honestly, there was no reason for me not to do the show. Reema (Kagti, the co-creator and co-director of Dahaad) and Zoya (Akhtar, the co-creator) came to narrate the show to me. We met on a lazy afternoon over a cup of coffee. They narrated the synopsis and told me that they would send over the episodes for me to read. I was like: ‘I will read them, of course, but I just want to let you know that I am on... I have to play this character, I have to be a part of this!’ (Laughs) It was so beautifully written!

I always wanted to work with Zoya and Reema. They are wonderful creators. What they create together has always been magic. They came to me at a time when I was looking to play someone strong and powerful. This is so different from anything that I have done before. I could not say anything but ‘yes’ to this.

Once I watched you as Bhaati, I couldn’t think of anyone else in the part....

I am glad! I had said at the trailer launch itself that I was born to play this role! (Laughs) And I still stand by it. I am so happy to hear you say this....

Were there any creative crests of playing this character that you hadn’t experienced in any other project before?

It’s always more enjoyable for me when I get to learn something new for a role. I had never spoken with an accent before. I have been born and brought up in Mumbai and suddenly I was told to speak in a Rajasthani dialect. We did our workshops and I was like: ‘Okay cool, bring it on!’ All the actors started practising and speaking that dialect among themselves.

I am glad it worked out fine because when you do something so new and so different, it can go either way. After the screening, so many people walked out and said: ‘Oh my God! We can’t believe that you are not from there.’ That was the biggest compliment for me. I am glad we managed the accent and the dialect because that just adds so much authenticity to the character.

I also learnt how to ride a bike, which is something I had never done before....

You really owned those bike-riding scenes!

I was waiting for a role that would put me on a bike! (Laughs) I was a total tomboy in school and I love all this. I just learnt for five-six days... I learnt and practised and started riding the bike for the show. I realised how much I am enjoying myself, and I just ended up buying my own bike! Now I ride all the time! (Laughs)

On the streets of Bombay?

Ya, ya! I go out at night when there is less traffic. I love it!

What are the seamless commonalities that you share with this character and what are the stark differences?

In terms of personality, we are both strong-minded women, once we set our minds on something, we go out and do it. We both believe in equality, we believe that we are no less than any man out there. She’s a complete go-getter like me.

Other than that, there is nothing else that we have in common. Our backgrounds are completely different and so are our circumstances and professions in life. But I think the commonalities scored over the differences and they helped me play her better.

Sonakshi in Dahaad, now streaming on Prime Video

What was it like having Dahaad premiere at Berlinale, a first for an Indian series?

That was my first time at a film festival too, and I was so glad that it was Berlinale... the mother of all film festivals, I think. It felt so good to go there with a show of our own. The kind of response we got there was phenomenal. We showed them only two episodes at the screening, and I had German viewers coming up to me and saying: ‘We really have to watch the rest of it! When is it releasing?!’ They were really, really into it.

I don’t know how the creators have done it, but despite Dahaad being so Indian and so rooted in the heartland, they have made it so global. Everyone at Berlinale got the cultural references, the jokes landed so well.... It’s really universal. I am getting messages praising the show from France, America....

What was it like being on a Reema Kagti-Zoya Akhtar set? How was being on this set and working on this project any different from your experiences so far?

Amazing! I only want to be on their set now! The way they think is so different. It’s such a pleasure to watch them jam together... the ideas that they come up with... the way they execute their stuff. They run such a beautiful production together. It’s such a respectful environment to work in, there is nothing lacking. They are such well-oiled machinery.

When I started working on Dahaad, I thought: ‘Oh, there are two directors (Reema and Ruchika Oberoi), let’s see how this is going to be.’ But even though their process is very different, when you watch the show, it all comes together so seamlessly. The two of them were completely in sync.

Ruchika would be very particular about what she wanted from me as an actor, while Reema is someone who gives you complete freedom... it was really beautiful to take things from both these directors and create my character with what I had. I would love to work with them over and over again!

What Zoya-Reema projects, collectively and individually, are you a fan of?

I love Reema’s Talaash. I told her that the first time I met her and that’s a film I have watched so many times. And Zoya... Gully Boy... what a film! Everything she has done has been phenomenal... I love Dil Dhadakne Do.

About a dozen years in the business later, what’s the headspace as an actor like now?

I have to resonate with the characters I play. They have to be strong and powerful and have some sort of gravitas. I changed my approach to choosing and playing my characters with Akira (2016). That was a really, really good experience for me as an actor... to be able to shoulder a film. I stuck to my new approach after Akira... some things worked, some didn’t. But then to do something like Dahaad where the payoff has been so big just reassures me that I am on the right path.