With Geeli Pucchi, one of the short films in Ajeeb Daastaans, director Neeraj Ghaywan highlighted two truths — that our society, even today, refuses to rise above casteism. And, if you have a demanding role, Konkona Sensharma is your best bet to portray it with all heart and honesty. The actor has won glowing reviews for her portrayal of Bharti Mondal, an efficient Dalit factory worker who is keen to climb up the ranks but is sidelined due to her caste. “I am used to my films not being seen by or not reaching many people, so this outpouring of love has been overwhelming. It’s my first film that has received such a strong response,” says Sensharma.

Through the principal characters, the film studies queer love, gender politics and caste conflict. The true win, according to her, lies in its nuanced writing. “For me, the trickiest scene was where Bharti talks to Priya [Aditi Rao Hydari] in the locker room after her confrontation with a male worker. That’s the turning point of the story. Bharti was a complex character, but her complexities make her more human on screen. It’s thanks to Neeraj and co-writer Sumit Saxena’s nuanced writing that these characters have come to life. We rarely see women making bad choices on screen. But here, [Bharti] is not a monolithic identity; there are shades of grey to her.”