He has played the guy next door, a professor, a government officer, among other roles, and excelled at them. But when Naveen Kasturia got the opportunity to play a spy and do action, there was no way he would let it go. His latest show Salakaar was everything he hoped for — from riding bikes to wearing leather jackets, from doing action to expressing patriotism — it was a dream come true.

While the show received a mixed response, he remains unfazed. “We’ve all read the reviews; they’ve been pretty okay. A few have liked it, and a few have not. The response I’ve got is that people have been happy to see me in a different part,” he says, adding with a laugh, “A few of them have really liked it, especially my performance — but that’s true for all my shows!”

The actor, however, is clear that the credit doesn’t rest with him alone. “No one works in isolation. My character is written and shaped by my director [Faruk Kabir], so I can’t say it is all me. Faruk is a very passionate guy. I’ve not seen someone do so much homework. His shot division would be on paper, and he would enact scenes [if needed]. I just had to follow his approach.”