'Every girl had a rate-card'

Meera Chopra in a still from her show Kamathipura

Having earned accolades for her act as a rape victim in Section 375, Meera Chopra has trained her focus on her next, Kamathipura, a series that dabbles in the flesh trade. Essaying the part of a cop in the web show, Priyanka Chopra Jonas's cousin says she had to frequent the red-light area to acquaint herself with it.

"As a cop posted in that place, I had to familiarise myself with the area. My team took me to Kamathipura for three days, and we travelled across places like gully no 12 and 13, where access for the common folk is restricted," says the actor, who investigates a spate of murders in the area for the Amazon Prime series, helmed by Shravan Kumar.

While it was meant to be an educative affair for her act, the prep, Chopra admits, often posed facts that rendered her unnerved. "At times, I'd see [troubled] girls willing to be bitten by snakes in a bid to get intoxicated. I learnt that there are different rate-card for girls. Those standing on the ground floor are 'cheaper' than those on the floors above. For me, it was shocking. I never even imagined that a place like this existed in Mumbai."

The success of Section 375, she says, has been a validation of sorts for her. "I've been waiting for this acceptance for a long time. Often, I would be tempted to do projects against my will, merely for the sake of visibility. But, I always decided to wait for the right offer."

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