Kunal Kapoor: The sets of ‘The Empire’ looked like a set of robots

Kunal Kapoor plays Babur in the web series lsquoThe Empirersquo that depicts the rise and fall of the Mughal empire The show has a ensemble cast including Shabana Azmi Drashti Dhami Dino Morea Aditya Seal and other actors Kunal tells middaycom all about what went into making the projectWhat was it that got you on board for lsquoThe EmpirersquoI had already read the book lsquoEmpire of the Moghulrsquo by Alex Rutherford before I read the script A couple of things that I really liked were whenever you think of an emperor itrsquos always written as someone who is commanding authoritative and larger than life Whereas Alex wrote the character as someone who is very flawed weak and vulnerable Hersquos someone who always doubts himself I found that interesting because itrsquos difficult to play a king who is emotionally weak he falls apart and often needs the women in his life to show him the right path I also loved the fact that the women are so strong because usually when you think of an empire itrsquos all about the men and women are just peripheral characters who have to be protected Here it was the women calling the shots behind the scenes be it the decisions they took or emotionally manipulating the men and showing them the right path I found that to be very interesting Coincidentally Nikkhil Advani called me a couple of months later saying he bought the rights to the book and wanted to turn it into a show I really liked the script and I was on boardWhat are the reactions you have been receivingThe last time I got such a reaction was for lsquoRang De Basantirsquo and lsquoAaja Nachlersquo Back then we didnrsquot have social media Now we get reactions of people be it good or bad immediately There have been hundreds of messages from the industry and outside thatrsquos been overwhelmingIs OTT something that excites you and do you plan to do more web seriesThe OTT space is very exciting be it for actors directors or writers The web space gives us a chance to make different content It gives you a chance to explore characters that are flawed In cinema characters are usually good or bad hero or villain Here characters are flawed and more relatable You get to discover each character over seasons so as an actor you can dig deep and understand the character betterHow did you all pull off the shoot during the pandemicThere were a lot of safety protocols but it was scary The first time I went on set it looked like a set of robots because everyone was in PPE kits facemasks and shields As an actor you canrsquot have a mask too long you have to get your hair and makeup done plus costumes People are constantly touching you so it was scary We would sanitise after every shot During action sequences I had hundreds of people around me but I think we got lucky as there was no Covid case on set We also had a lot of breaks in between each schedule so it was a challenge to stay in characterWhat nextI am working on some movies that go into production soon and also in talks for some more web seriesAlso Read Kunal Kapoor on The Empire Babur in the show may be different from how he was