Haseen Dillruba, an intense love story packaged as a thriller, streams on Netflix from today. Starring Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane in principal roles, the film is written by Kanika Dhillon (Manmarziyaan, Kedarnath, Judgmentall Hai Kya, Guilty) and directed by Vinil Mathew, who helmed Hasee Toh Phasee a few years ago.

Over a Zoom call, The Telegraph caught up with Taapsee, Vikrant, Harshvardhan and Vinil for a freewheeling chat on their film, love and crime thriller reads.

Haseen Dillruba starts off as a sweet romance and metamorphoses into a dark thriller. For each of you, what was it about Kanika Dhillon’s script that compelled you to sign on?

Vinil Mathew: When Kanika first narrated the story to me, the film was called ‘Heer’ at that time. She had created this beautiful world... it was an intense love story in the garb of a thriller, and I felt that it was great, juicy material to bite into. Not only were the characters interesting, even in terms of cinematic form, you can play around so much... you are mixing genres and the film can’t be boxed in at all. There is a lot of humour, there is thrill... it just seemed like really compelling material to get into. Two weeks later, it was still stuck in my head. So a month after Kanika narrated it to me, I called her up and said I would like to do it.

Taapsee Pannu: My reaction after hearing the script was, ‘Yes!’ I was half sold at the genre itself... romantic thriller. It’s a very rare combination that doesn’t happen too often. It’s either a love story or a thriller — I have done both — and this is such a great combination. It’s like putting a murder in Manmarziyaan! (Laughs) I was also sold at the fact that nobody before this had thought of me playing a character like this. I haven’t played a character like Rani, someone who uses her sexuality to get her way. When you get into uncharted territory as an actor, you then realise what you can pull off. That was a big reason for me to sign on.

Vikrant Massey: For me, there were multiple factors at the initial stage itself. I am someone who avoids taking narrations. I read the script and I was completely gung-ho about it. As Taapsee said, nobody has ever seen me play the character that I do in Haseen Dillruba. It was also an incredible opportunity for me to work with an actor like Taapsee. The world that the film is set in — the simplicities and the complexities merging together — intrigued me.

Eventually, this film is about human nature. There are three primary characters, they have different motivations and they have absolute justifications for their actions... it’s kind of complex. I like films that explore the unravelling of complexities. If you give me something that’s plain and plastic, I tend to get bored. A lot of permutations and combinations come into play when one signs a film, and Haseen Dillruba, for me, ticked off all the boxes.

Harshvardhan Rane: When Kanika ma’am narrated the story to me, I felt that my character (Neel) wears very little clothes! (Laughs) Mujhe laga ki mere costume ka budget kaafi kum hain...

Taapsee: It’s time for reverse objectification to take place! (Laughs)

Harsh: Once I got past that, I really liked the script because it shows the right in the wrong and the wrong in the right. I was happy that I was chosen for a role with grey shades because otherwise, I am mostly offered straight-up romantic roles. When love is complex, then it becomes more interesting. The whole river rafting angle, which is something I am passionate about, also clinched it for me. Then, of course, was the chance to work with Taapsee and Vikrant. And I simply jumped at the part.

Harshvardhan Rane as Neel Sourced by the correspondent

Harsh, did you have fun playing this uber-cool alpha male?

Harsh: I actually did, because I am not an alpha male in real life, Maybe I am a closet alpha... I am still trying to figure that out. When Vinil sir explained the layers of the character to me, then I started seeing Neel beyond just being an alpha male who walks around wearing close to nothing! (Laughs)

All the characters in this film have shades of grey. Was that what made them so intriguing to play?

Taapsee: Black and white are so unidimensional and predictable and then the audience quickly guesses how a character is going to react. It’s only fun for the audience — and the actor — if you can’t predict what the character will do next. It makes for an engaging watch. Since forever, I have always been drawn to parts that are not totally black and white. I have always been the first one to pick those roles whenever they have come my way, and even in the future, you will keep seeing me doing that. Otherwise, it just gets too boring.

Vikrant, before you answer that, I was surprised by how evil you can be. Every time I watched you in Haseen Dillruba, I was like, ‘No, Vikrant can’t do that!’

Vikrant: I could be, I could be! (Laughs) And I am very glad I unnerved you. Anyone can be anything, that’s the beauty of human nature, you know. All of us are grey. Very seldom as actors do we get that perfect balance in a script. I have always believed that humans are the most complicated species... they are absolutely unpredictable. Human nature knows no boundaries. Everyone’s purpose in life, whether you call it moksh or anything else, is liberation... you want to break all the shackles and enter the unknown. So when you get to play a character like Rishu is, I jumped at it because reality is grey.

Taapsee: Your perception of Vikrant is only what he shows you... this really good guy. When you spend 25 days on the trot with Vikrant, then you will come to know of his other side! (Everyone laughs)

Vikrant: We all have different sides to us. Different circumstances elevate one particular emotion. We all have the capacity to have everything within us.

Harsh: It has a lot to do with my personal journey. Over the last seven years, I have started accepting the fact that I have a lot of flaws. Initially, I used to think I have no flaws! (Laughs) Once I have started accepting my flaws, I am getting more and more interested in characters that are grey. I am glad that I was able to justify this flawed character, in my head at least.

Director Vinil Mathew

Vinil, what were the challenges of bringing all the diverse threads in the script together?

Vinil: The biggest strength of this script was also its challenge. We were trying out something which we didn’t know would work or not. There are very strong and defined threads of a thriller, and then there is also a love story. One has to justify both and satiate the audience on both counts.

I also tried to layer it with some true emotions. These are very seriously flawed characters, and looking at it from the outside, one would hate these characters... on the face of it, they are so violent and not like the white, heroic characters that our audiences are used to. To create an empathetic eye towards these characters and make the audience invest in their journey was the challenge.

As you said, it was tough to mix all these threads. We had to figure out how much humour to keep in a film like this. We didn’t want the humour to reduce the stakes in the film. Honestly, till the edit and the background music got done, we weren’t sure if we were doing justice to all the threads. While the dialogues are flowery, the plot is very dramatic. The location had a lot of colours and so we didn’t need to force another visual style. This is a love story with the beats of a thriller and so the edit and the background score play a huge part in it. It was also about tweaking and adjusting and evolving as we went along in order to find the right balance. Till the end, I wasn’t sure whether it would all come together in the way we wanted it to.

The film explores the crazy side of love. Do you feel that intense love is almost always accompanied with pain?

Taapsee: Fortunately, in life, I haven’t gone through such crazy and complex emotions in my relationships. Thankfully, I didn’t because then I would have ended up being a bigger psycho than Rani! (Laughs)

Vikrant: I have had my fair share of pain in life. But pain has its varying degrees. It could be love, it could be friendship, it could be a father-son relationship.... If you are specifically asking about the pain in romantic relationships, I have experienced that too. For me, it’s important to recognise and honour that pain. I am someone who hates toxic positivity. If I am going through pain, I won’t tell myself, ‘Be positive, be positive!’ I am not that kind of person. Rather, I would acknowledge it, honour it and learn something from it and then take a step forward. For me, pain is a very important catalyst. Also, pain is a very important element that catalyses any form of creative art, be it poetry, music or cinema.

Harsh: I haven’t really experienced intense pain in a romantic relationship because the only girl that I really dated in the true sense of the term is now my best friend and also my flatmate....

Vinil: Harsh, that sounds very much like marriage!

Harsh: Sir, now it’s become very sibling-ish between us! (Laughs) The only pain I can relate to when it comes to intense love is the pain I experienced when I lost my father. When I lost my father, I realised, ‘Oh shit! Now I know how much I loved this guy!’

Crime thriller novels form a major plot point in Haseen Dillruba. Are you guys a fan of crime thrillers, pulpy or otherwise?

Taapsee: I am not much of a reader. You should ask this question to Vikrant who keeps reading all the time. I watch a lot of thrillers, though. I feel that there are two genres which have a huge mass appeal... one is comedy and the other is thriller. It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t like thrillers.

Vikrant: I belong to Bombay, so I really haven’t had my fair share of Dinesh Pandits and Savita Bhabhis and all of that! (Laughs) I was not raised around all that...

Vikrant, you are all about being classic and classy!

Taapsee: He’s vanilla! His name should be Vikrant ‘Vanilla’ Massey! (Laughs)

Harsh: Vikrant sets such a high benchmark that it becomes very difficult for guys like us! (Laughs)

Vikrant: Arre, it’s become difficult for me also! Logon ko lagta hain main bahut classy hoon, lekin waisa kuch hain nahin! This is a perception. But on second thoughts, I think I will amble along with this perception because it’s doing good for me! (Laughs) I am going to make the most of it till it lasts.

Vikrant, you are ideal arranged marriage material!

Vikrant: Really?! Thank you so much. Ab ek Rajshri (Productions) ki picture mil jaaye (laughs). I would love to play Prem!

Harsh: You will be the best candidate for Prem!

Vikrant: Wow! Okay, to answer your question... my mother is an avid reader. She’s read a lot of Sidney Sheldons. When she came to my dad’s home after marriage, she carried all her books...

dog-eared and brown... but she carried them all. So I have read almost all the Sidney Sheldons, Jeffrey Archers, John Grishams.... Though I don’t watch too much content, when I do, I like spending two hours with a thriller, more than any other genre.

Vinil: I must confess that I haven’t read too much of pulp fiction, especially the sort which is there in our film. When I started out, I had an outsider’s perspective on it, but then I invested in understanding the lingo and the culture.... But my reading is very different of late, I have been reading a lot of non-fiction.