Gratitude—that’s the emotion currently dominating Ram Madhvani’s headspace. The creator-director is grateful not only for being able to take Aarya to the third edition, but also to Sushmita Sen for saying yes to him season on season. “I cannot say yes to her. She is in power, and I am happy she said yes again,” he beams.

The crime drama, also starring Sikandar Kher and Vikas Kumar, is centred on Sen’s titular character who goes from being a homemaker to a don after her husband is killed. The Disney+ Hotstar series had the audience hooked since its first season in 2020, as much for its gripping story as for the leading lady’s confident performance. It’s the latter that Madhvani is particularly happy about—the show, after all, marked Sen’s OTT debut. “The responsibility [I feel towards] whichever actor I am working with is greater than the series or film I make. So, after the series or film has reached the audience, I spend a lot of time [wondering] whether I can look my actor in the eye and say, ‘I did justice to you.’ Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. With Sushmita, I seem to have succeeded because we are in the third season.”