DNA Exclusive: 'Poison 2' actress Asmita Sood talks about working with Aftab Shivdasani, his pranks

Renowned South Indian film actress Asmita Sood is all set to make her web show debut with 'Poison 2'. The show features her as a female protagonist who falls in love with the male lead, played by Aftab Shivdasani.

While Asmita has been part of Hindi TV shows, she has never worked in Bollywood. Thus, the actress never shared screenspace with Aftab before. Completely unaware about the kind of prankster he is, Sood feel for his trap time and again, according to her confession during an interview with DNA.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

You have actively worked in the South Indian film industry and Hindi TV shows. So was it a conscious step to now make your debut in a web show?

Yes, after working in South Indian Film Industry and Hindi TV shows, I chose a web show. It was a conscious choice. I strongly believed that with the kind of content being premiered on popular OTT platforms, it gives more opportunity to every actor to explore themselves more. The stories are different compared to television or films. 'Poison 2' has a great storyline along with a fresh and interesting cast! When I was offered the role of Hina, I looked at as an opportunity to grow my footprint in the webspace with a fresh look and feel.

Tell me about your role in Poison 2.

My role in Poison 2 is very different from all the characters that I have essayed on-screen earlier. Plus Poison is a superhit franchise. This season has more action, deceit and vengeance compared to its predecessor and promises an edge of the seat experience for the viewers. I essay the character of Hina in the show, who is supporting the main protagonist i.e. Aftab Shivdasani to achieve all his plans. Hina is in love with Aditya (Aftab’s character). How the story unfolds will get the viewers' pulse ticking.

What attracted you towards this show?

I was attracted to the charged-up storyline full of manipulations, and the strong character that I was essaying on screen. The season is a poisonous concoction of emotions such as jealousy, lust, revenge, rage, betrayal, insecurity, etc. all served on a platter of 11 episodes. Vishal Pandya is a master director of this genre and has layered the heady mix with more mystery and ambiguity. I immediately decided to go in for it when I got to know the storyline, the character and the director. Hina and Aditya are a team throughout the season and they have an interesting relationship - the only relationship in the show which has positive emotions like friendship, affection, love, etc. Hina brings the much-needed breath of fresh air in the heady concoction.

Have you seen Poison? Did you take any character as a reference from it?

Yes, I saw Poison. However, there was no reference point from the first season that could have been used in the second season. The storyline is entirely different. Hence, I had to build my character from the very beginning. 

Tell me about working with Aftab. Did you become friends? Did you congratulate him on turning a parent?

Aftab Shivdasani is real fun to work with, he is very down to earth person. He was the senior-most artist on the sets but was very real. It was great to have a conversation with him. He is super-friendly, I believe every person who has ever worked with Aftab Shivdasani is his friend. He would pull my leg and play pranks many times and the entire unit was aware of the joke except me. I used to wonder, why everyone is laughing. The fun and energy he brings on the sets are unparalleled. Yes, I did congratulate him on becoming a proud parent of a baby girl.

Did Nin, his wife, come on sets?

I never saw Nin on the sets.

I hear the shooting of the film took place with new COVID-19 measures. Tell me about that. Was it mid-shoot or throughout?

Parts of the web show were shot pre and post-Covid19 both. We stopped shooting when Maharashtra Government had issued a lockdown, we resumed the shoot in July when shooting was possible under the new guidelines. We saw a sea change in the working pattern with the new shooting SOPs in place. The production house ensured to go beyond the procedure in the SOP and took all the care to ensure that all the cast and crew are safe. Plus all the cast and crew had realised the importance of following the guidelines - be it wearing masks, maintaining distancing, wearing face-shields & PPE Kits, sanitising repetitively, etc. The food that used to come on the sets was packed in food trays, unlike the buffets we used to have earlier. The vanity vans were also repetitively sanitised. Clothes were also sanitised before and after use. The initial few days on the sets were also difficult, since we were so used to see more people on the sets – now there were only a few. Everything looked very different - it became difficult to identify the person behind the mask as we were so used to see faces. There was a seriousness in the air, people used to talk less to each other. However, in a few days, everyone got adjusted to the new normal and the old camaraderie was rekindled on the sets.

Would you venture into Bollywood soon? Any offers so far?

Bollywood, yes! I would love to act in Hindi films. I believe the days when actors used to choose content based on the language are passe. I would love to be a part of good content in any language. In fact, the rise of web platforms has been a catalyst in blurring the boundaries of language and geography. I believe the audiences are lapping up good content in any language - the success of Korean, Spanish, Bengali, etc. content is a testimony for the same.