Return of thaanedaar trio

To be a woman means to multitask Even if you are one of Indiarsquos most sought after actors with an international Emmy award under her beltShefali Shah is at the Netflix Mumbai headquarters where we are to interview her about her return as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi chief investigating officer in crime drama Delhi Crimersquos second season She is juggling a domestic hurdle on the phone with her family Her sons Maurya and Aryaman are unwell as is her motherinlaw She is instructing a staffer about medication and the dayrsquos menu Two minutes later she takes on the first question with the focus and passion we expect from herCostars on the show Rasika Dugal and Rajesh Tailang sit beside her both hailed for their portrayal of officer Neeti Singh and Inspector Bhupendra Singh respectively Core members of the showrsquos team that cracks a rape and assault case inspired by the 2012 Delhi gang rape that led to the death of a 23yearold woman resulting in national outrage Shefali Shah left and Rasika Dugal return in season 2 as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi and officer Neeti Singh respectivelyldquoReprising a role is always interesting Itrsquos like meeting an old friendrdquo Dugal thinks ldquoYou know them the characters fundamentally but they have moved on with their lives Itrsquos a mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity Also they are responding to different events Neeti starts off as a sincere idealistic and wideeyed cop who wants to impress Vartika Now she is more lived in and easy about her job This evolution also comes with a bit of jadedness I shadowed a real policewoman as prep for season 1 and then again for season 2 She seemed to be in the same position that Neeti finds herself in I saw the difference in her from bring trainee officer to ACPrdquo says Dugal a satisfied smile refusing to leave her faceShah listens to her intently She admits she is ldquodeeply possessiverdquo about her character ldquoI think itrsquos one of the best things I have done And I was anxious if I could fill those shoes againrdquo This is an actor who has only done stellar work in the interim recently wowing audiences as a domestic help in Jalsa and the mother of a domestic abuse survivor in Darlings ldquoVartika became larger than lifemdashwe made a show we created hermdashwe didnrsquot know she would go where she went I thought to myself lsquohow can I top thatrsquo When I got back into the role on set she came back to me as if she never left Slipping into the uniform does that to yourdquo Shah musesWhile in the showrsquos first season Shah thinks the trio was obsessed with solving the case this time around their approach is practical because ldquothey do this every dayrdquoFor Tailang like Shah having a finger on the pulse of the character once again was a worry ldquoThings changed the case has changed But Bhupendra isnrsquot a man to change His struggle is to remain the way he is For an actor a character is not a statue you reveal You sculpt it for the audience as you go along revealing bits of it in every scenerdquo This is not the first time that Tailang is dabbling in a crime drama He has directed scores of episodes of Indian televisionrsquos iconic dramatised crime series inspired by real episodes Indiarsquos Most Wanted This time the trio is grappling with a gang that had caused havoc in Delhi in the 1990s The Chaddi Baniyan Gang was notorious for attacking homes at night especially those housing senior citizens Theyrsquod wear little else but underclothes and face masks slathering their bodies with oil or mud to protect their identities and give the cops a slip They would urinate or defecate at the crime scene before they left some said to mislead sniffer dogs and their killings were almost always ruthlessA bungalow in South Delhi has been attacked in season 2 and four bodies are found Those summoned to the crime scene are aghast at the brutal behaviour of the culprits Despite the criminal groupsrsquo notoriety Shah says ldquoI had never heard of this gang I said lsquoOh my god reallyrsquo As information arrived to me through the material for the show I was able to understand that this kind of human behaviour is not isolated Itrsquos the result of everything that is happening around Itrsquos not about one bad person responsible for it Thatrsquos the strength of Delhi Crime it brings forth the social situations that influence certain happeningsrdquo All three actors agree that this show has helped them see the Indian police force in new light Itrsquos easy to play the blame game Shah says ldquoThe police are the punching bag each time something goes wrong As a civilian I too have been quick to reprimand the police Now I think I come from a place of empathy The show humanises the policerdquo says DugalHow did you disengage from Delhi CrimeYou canrsquot describe it itrsquos entirely experiential Thatrsquos the beauty of itRasika DugalI got so engrossed that there was nothing left to take back with me once I was doneShefali ShahThe way I quickly got into character is how I got out of it tooRajesh Tailang