As the title suggests, Vikram Vedha, which sees a cop in pursuit of a gangster, is a Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan show all the way. You’d wonder why an actor of Radhika Apte’s calibre — reliable as ever and lending gravitas to her scenes — would do the two-hero project. Did the promise of a commercial success make her say yes to the actioner? “It’s a good film, and that matters to me. So many times, you are part of a film, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you like the film. Here, I like the film,” she smiles. “As for the body of work, no matter what your resumé has, success means so much in our industry. It makes you a bit relevant suddenly. Your commercial viability depends on your box-office success.”

Though the industry is evolving to depict women exercising agency on screen, one of the problems of male-driven masala movies is the little screen time it offers to its leading ladies. Director duo Pushkar-Gayatri’s movie falls into that trap. “I knew the story was about two men. My part was always going to be small. That said, it’s not about screen time. I loved working with Gayatri and Pushkar. I jokingly said, ‘Why didn’t you make Vikram and Vedha women?’ They told me there will be a next time. Would I like to be in films that offer me more scope and time? Definitely.”