When Vipin Sharma received the script for Maharani 4, he knew instantly that the role demanded a different level of commitment. The new season of the SonyLIV series, also starring Huma Qureshi and Shweta Basu Prasad, sees Sharma step in as the calculating antagonist, Prime Minister Sudhakar Sriniwas Joshi. “When I was offered the script, I realised this was going to be huge, because it’s a brilliantly written season,” he says.

Entering a successful show in its fourth season naturally brought pressure and he admits he was nervous. “I wanted to prepare extra. I made sure I bring something to the table and not just come in as another actor.” To challenge himself, Sharma changed his entire process of preparation. He worked with an international coach and used a Hollywood method created by Harold Guskin, focusing on “taking the text off the pages”. “It was not just remembering lines. It was making your lines part of your body. It gave me an opportunity to relook at my process,” he explains.