Taher Shabbir describes himself as a person who is “full of love”. Evidently then, in order to play the antagonist in Bejoy Nambiar’s Disney + Hotstar series Kaala, the actor needed to disconnect from his “inherent personality” to play the part of a man who is obsessed with power. 

“When you play the antagonist, you feel like something is [eating you from within]. It’s in contrast to who you are as a person. The emotional journey of a character like Naman is heavy. I prepped for the part intensely to make sure that the essence was captured well. Naman believes he is God. That darkness stayed with me during the shoot.” Since the set that he was working on was buzzing with joy, Shabbir was able to disconnect from his on-screen character, swiftly.