Rashami Desai begins the conversation by admitting that she was a ball of nerves when she decided to give her nod to Tandoor. She is grateful to director Nivedita Basu, who is also making her web debut with the Ullu series, and co-star Tanuj Virwani for putting her at ease. “I didn’t want to pick a random subject for [my digital debut]. When I heard the narration, I got goosebumps. I feel fortunate that she considered me for the role,” says the actor.

The investigative thriller is based on the July 1995 Tandoor murder case, in which MLA Sushil Sharma had shot wife Naina Sahni to death and disposed her body in a tandoor at a Delhi restaurant. While Desai had done considerable prep before the shoot, everything changed on the set. “My homework didn’t work for me, but my director guided me to perform at optimum level. I just followed her word. It felt like an impromptu [performance],” says the Uttaran actor, adding that it was a challenging role. “It was difficult to switch between the present and past tracks and adjust to Palak’s [her character] mental space.”