In Shaque: Trust No One, the Netflix original series that had its premiere on September 24, Parineeti Chopra plays a grieving mother who stays determined to find her missing daughter, even as she is entangled in a web of suspicions and secrets. For the Ishaqzaade (2012) actor who incidentally also completes 15 years as an actor this year, the show kicks off a new chapter, marking her series debut as well as being her first major project in more than two years since her acclaimed performance in Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).
In a conversation with CE, Parineeti, alongwith Tahir Raj Bhasin and co-creators Siddharth P Malhotra (Ikka, We are Family) and Rensil d’Silva (Rang De Basanti, Kurbaan) talks about Shaque, what sets it apart from other whodunits, and everything that’s changed post Chamkila.
Excerpts:
Parineeti, you mentioned in previous interviews that you are a switch-on-and-off actor. How difficult is that approach with an intense role like in Shaque?
Parineeti Chopra: It's not challenging to switch off; I have to. It's my natural instinct. The moment I hear ‘cut,’ I just tune out. In fact, people mock me when they see me wiping tears while talking about something else. Thank God I am this way because I love intense characters. If I kept carrying my roles back home, it would make my personal life crazy.
Also, the brief for my role was all there on paper. It’s a beautifully written story, with each character having clear motivations. We could just wait for last-minute instructions on set and go along. Rensil sir was a fantastic soundboard; it was sone pe suhaaga (cherry on cake).
Rensil, what was the starting point of the story?
Rensil D’Silva: This story came to me in a strange way. I was in a lobby with my producing partner Partho, waiting for the elevator, when I lost a few seconds because I suddenly got this story in my head. Partho said, 'Let's go.' The lift door closed, people went in and I didn't go in — I was just lost. It came almost fully formed right there, the premise. I had not seen a film about kidnapping the day before. Why did these images of a woman and this baby come into my head? I think stories choose you. There is no rationale to it.
The current OTT consumption often happens in a passive viewing style. Was that a concern while scripting a thriller?
Siddharth P Malhotra: Present-day audiences don't give a show much time. When they sample a series, they see 10-15 mins at best before completing an episode. For Shaque, we wanted the nuance, but we also wanted the pace to be relevant. We didn't want a slow burn. We wanted the audience to say, “arey, series khatam ho gaya?” (Oh, it’s over?) It will be our victory if we have someone telling us, ‘We couldn't put it down.’ That is the endeavour. This is a thriller with a lot of soul and heart. It is dal-chawal, but with a different flavour. You can watch it comfortably, without breaking your head.
Tahir, how do you approach a character like this, someone in the lead but not easy to redeem?
Tahir Raj Bhasin: I think people are flawed in real life, and it’s always beautiful to get these characters. Having said that, when I'm doing a part, I never judge it from my own moral lens. In that world, perhaps he had his reasons for doing things he did. That is an actor's job, to create your own justification for the truth that the writer gave you.
The only thing I can do as an actor is play it with honesty, so that when the arc completes at the end, the audience feels, ‘He had his own journey.’ I love to play a part where half the audience feels one way and the other half feels the other way. If you've left the audience conflicted, that's good drama.
Parineeti, how has life changed post Chamkila?
PC: Everything. When I started off, I didn't want to chase heroine roles; I wanted to be a performer. Whenever I didn’t follow that, I failed. With Chamkila, I went back to my roots. It solidified that idea for me, that I need to follow my path. Both the filmmakers and audiences woke up to me again. Now, the conversations I'm having in different rooms and the content I'm discussing makes me feel nothing ever went wrong. They're okay to let me shoulder a show or give me heavy parts. I'll also credit Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar (2021). It was not a hit. It went to OTT platforms and gained viewership, but it started that comeback journey before Chamkila sealed it.
It's been a fun journey. I saw a huge high, then a huge low. Now I'm climbing back again. I'm loving this because it's taught me many things, which I wouldn’t have learnt otherwise. It's fun to play, to choose, to talk to different minds. That’s what I wanted at this stage in my life. I would have hated to just focus on my career. Now I'm balancing my personal life and career.
Was there any major unlearning that you had to do during this phase?
PC: This is before Sandeep and Pinky Faraar. I was going to the wrong advisors, who were giving me general advice — advice that works for other actresses, which wasn’t customized to my personality — they were just asking me to copy that. I was naive enough to follow it, that’s where I faltered. Not that I'm blaming anyone, but when you seek advice in your low phases, wrong advisors can put you on a wrong path, making it worse. That's what happened with me. SAPF and Chamkila were my decisions; I went with my instinct and they worked. I needed to have that phase to learn. In my mind, I always knew what I wanted to do, but wasn't able to. So, I just shut everything down, went back to what I wanted to do.
Rang De Basanti completed 20 years recently. It’s still alive in social media conversations. Do you think it can be made today?
RD: Sadly, I think you can't make it today — but it was tough to make it back then too. We didn't get a censor certificate, and had to get the three chiefs of staff — Army, Navy and Air Force — to sign off. I don't think that ever happened in the history of Indian cinema. Today, people talk about the RDB script, but it was not bought for three years. We went from pillar to post until Aamir bought it.
But then, it's always difficult when you're talking about politics, standing up for your beliefs, and urging a generation to stand up. I don't take great pride in the fact that RDB is still relevant. It's sad, but the love the audience gave to it, and me to an extent, is career-defining. It happens once in a lifetime, and I'm always grateful.
