Shweta Tripathi Sharma has a simple yardstick when it comes to choosing her roles— the further away the character is from her, the more excited she is about it. Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein’s Shikha, who is unsuspecting and helpless as her love story takes a dark turn, then fit perfectly in her pursuit of different roles. “I want my characters to be different from me, and from each other,” starts Tripathi, when we get on a call with her.

The second season of the Netflix romantic thriller, also starring Tahir Raj Bhasin and Aanchal G Singgh, is readying for release two years after the opening edition became a sleeper hit. What made reprising the role of Shikha more tempting for Tripathi was that writer-director Sidharth Sengupta had turned her character around. “The show asks the question, ‘How far would you go for love?’ This season reveals a new side to Shikha as she decides to fight for her love. You will see a feminine and vulnerable side to my character, yet one that is fierce and determined. It’s an exciting balance,” she grins.