Months after a fire brought Bepannaah shoot to a halt, actor Sehban Azim says cast continues to be shaken
Sehban Azim
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Shooting for Jennifer Winget-starrer Bepannaah came to a standstill on January 6 when a massive fire broke out on the set at Cinevista Studios. Almost three months after the incident, which took the life of an audio assistant identified as Gopi Varma, the cast members are still unsettled when the topic is addressed. "We are still recovering from it," says Sehban Azim, who plays the role of Yash in the soap. "We had started off on a positive note, and this incident changed everything. Cinevista took good care of the family [of Varma]. We are glad about that."
The Mumbai leg of the shoot commenced after the unit had finished filming in Missouri. "The makers had intended to kick off the show in January after Bigg Boss concluded, but evidently things didn't go as planned. No one was mentally prepared to return to work after the incident. In fact, we still haven't begun shooting at Cinevista." In the meanwhile, they have been wrapping up their portions at other locations.
"We've started shooting at Film City and in Vasai. I suppose they are still looking into certain compliance issues at Cinevista, but I'm not sure." Azim has a relatively short stint in the show. His character, Winget's love interest, eventually loses his life. Prod him on why he chose to give his nod to a role that saw him play second fiddle and he says, "My character has sufficient depth. I share a complicated equation with two women in the show. Sufficient detailing has gone into writing the role."
Azim adds that smaller roles on TV implies he gets sufficient time to work on other ventures. He has two short films — one opposite Adah Sharma and the other alongside Anupriya Goenka — in his kitty. "My first short is a love story of two soul mates. The second one is a murder mystery. I am also working on a music video with Barkha Bisht."
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