Was Madhuri Dixit already cast when you joined the project?
No, Rohit Banawlikar and he arrived at the idea while writing episode one. When you’re writing something original, you imagine different people. But here, we had the French character played by Carole Bouquet, a beautiful, glamorous performer who was a Bond girl in the ’80s. That reference led us towards thinking: who is the Indian equivalent?
Once Madhuri Dixit came to mind, we wrote the rest of the show for her. If we could get her, it would be a coup – casting against type in the best possible way.
Entertainment head] and I made a straightforward pitch.
She’s a huge fan of crime thrillers and serial killer shows, so we immediately connected over what we both enjoy. Both of us absolutely love Dexter. Mare of Easttown is another one, and Mindhunter.
She also sensed that she wanted to challenge herself and do something she hadn’t done before. She said yes, but it wasn’t firm until she read the scripts.
Earlier written strong, layered female characters -how Mrs Deshpande challenge or expand his approach towards female protagonists?
Once the streaming space exploded, many more writers and creators began exploring layered female characters. Earlier, only a small group of us was doing it.
Now acceptance has gone up tremendously – in conversations, in casting, in audience expectation. With Madhuri, that acceptance opens even more doors. He didn’t feel the pressure to prove anything – simply leaned into the character as they envisioned her.
About Madhuri’s work toward balancing her star charisma with the grounded tone, she calls
She calls this initial period fencing, where the actor and director try to find their space. He always ease into it with the look test, when you start trying different clothes. Then they find common ground in the readings.
But over time, her approach has changed. Doesn’t the process to death before going on set. Does a couple of readings – hear the voice correctly. Then kind of park it. The real tone is set on the actual set, not in an air-conditioned rehearsal room.
The first couple of days were rough because they were finding the sur, the note. Mrs Deshpande is someone who is almost always in control, so wanted minimal physical movement. A lot is communicated through the way she looks at people. That was new for Madhuri, and it required back-and-forth in the early days.
It has been a major year The Hunt, your performance in Paatal Lok 2, Mrs Deshpande. What 2025 has taught about evolution as a storyteller and performer – ti to this Nagesh said that easier to answer as a performer because it’s so infrequent and it always reinforces why he doesn’t more often, because it’s terrifying.
As a director, it’s been a very good year. He thought The Hunt would come out last year. Sometimes delays happen and that’s how two projects ended up in the same year.
What this year has done is create an urge to do a feature film. He has been pounding the streaming pavement, shooting 350 pages over the course of however many days, that now a 90-page feature film seems like a piece of cake.
What does he see ahead?
Almost immediately, he plans to make a very indie film – stripped-down, small crew, back to his roots. He has an idea brewing, and if he can write it quickly, he hopes to shoot it early next year. Beyond that, he gets back getting back to meeting producers and pitching scripts.
He isn’t done with features. Ideally, he will shoot something that hits theatres by mid-next year. The goal has always been to do at least one film or show in every genre. Horror and action are still left, and hopes to take them on soon.
Streaming platforms are cutting down on budgets and projects. Movies are back on the big screen. His next take?
The OTT honeymoon period is over. Earlier, you could pitch the riskiest, craziest ideas and people were willing to explore them. He knew it wouldn’t last, but found it incredibly productive for him.
City of Dreams, The Hunt, Mrs Deshpande – many of these would never be greenlit as theatrical films.
Now platforms are consolidating and the number of shows each year has dropped drastically. It’s a new reality.
But after 28 years, he has learned he is a survivor. Roll with the punches, find the gaps, and squeeze something through. And if the big projects don’t align, he has the joy of writing something small and shooting it quickly with unknowns. That creative freedom hasn’t gone away.
News Edit KV Raman
