Exclusive: Sobhita Dhulipala dishes out details about 'Made In Heaven' season 2, says 'it will be conversation starter'

Actor Sobhita Dhulipala, who shot to fame with the Amazon Prime Video show, 'Made In Heaven', wowed the audience with her nuanced portrayal of  Tara Khanna, the ambitious wedding planner in the hit series. 

As the show marks three years today, we at DNA caught up with Sobhita and spoke to her about the show, what she thought resonated with the audience most about 'Made In Heaven', her character Tara Khanna, 'Made in Heaven' season 2 and what the audience can expect from Tara in the next season and more. Here's an excerpt: 

- It's been 3 years, but the show, Made In Heaven, still comes up in conversations. What do you think resonated about the show with the audience so much? 

Ans: The show was shot in 2017 and early 2018 and it came out in 2019. At that time, there weren't too many OTT projects. It wasn't completely fertile ground. People didn't have a reference point as such.  I was completely bowled over by the story and the central idea that there is a void in terms of human material. I want to consume stories on dysfunctional relationships, about social dramas where there is a political commentary on what is happening in urban India. Because we are all people who are living in these spaces. There is no actual material that we can connect with. At least not enough material.  There is something quite confrontational about the show. It is so close to urban reality. I think that's what makes it relevant for discussion. Makes it special to me. 

- Tara Khanna, your character had varying shades. How difficult was it to portray it? What about her inspires you the most? Are there any takeaways from the character?

Ans: It wasn't difficult because I understood her. If we understand intent,  I think action becomes clear. There is clarity of thought and there is clarity of action. I feel like I respected Tara and as an actor when you read a story or a character and you don't judge them, you don't measure them, you try to give them a complete personality, create them in flesh in your head. There are so many things about her that I look up to. Because I am not strong as she is. What made get accessible to me was the fact that she was not a perfect creature, she was flawed, she had her shortcomings. And yet she chose to keep moving forward in her life, taking everything in her stride. That spirit was something I looked up to and wanted to emote because I am a very sensitive and emotional person. I think that's something I really enjoyed. I was also quite young when I played that part. I was 24 and I didn't have the emotional maturity to understand the nuances of infidelity in a marriage. Obviously, as human beings, we can't experience everything in the world, no matter how much we try. I think that was an interesting thing for me to explore. I had to grow up a little to be Tara. 

READ: Sobhita Dhulipala bags Dev Patel's Hollywood directorial debut 'Monkey Man', actor reacts

- The show deals with a lot of topics such as infidelity, sexuality and relationships. Did it change your perspective in any way towards the topics?

It's a dysfunctional relationship drama with socio-political commentary. In my head, this is what I think of it. It made me question the grey. Mostly we look at the things like black and white because it makes us comfortable. We don't have to live in conflict. Lying is bad, kindness is good, let us simplify it. In life, there are so many grey areas, neither this nor that. I feel like it gave me the opportunity to explore relationships in the way they are and not how they should be in society. It's a simple fact that there is a spotlight, on a woman who is not your perfect typical heroine, instead, she is someone who chooses life on her own terms. Sometimes she screws up and pays for it and picks herself up and moves forward. That spirit of being there for yourself. Some days you want a coffee, some days you want to cry your heart out. Come rain, come sunshine, live your life the way you deserve to. That spirit is something that's special and I have grown to really respect it. 

- With the outbreak of covid, more and more people have taken to the OTT medium to consume content. There are more characters like Tara Khanna, powerful female characters that we have gotten to see in the last couple of years. Do you think the boom of the OTT medium has given a rise to female-centric characters and provided a platform where women have meatier roles than before?

Ans: I think as long as women were playing characters in a man's life, they were limited to doing specific things, as the story was told from the point of view of men. So, in a man's life, a woman is a lover or a sister, a girlfriend or a wife. Well defined roles but when the focus moves to marriage, then you get to explore her life, her nuances, the layering. I am sure it happened back in the day but it was termed a women-centric film. That is slowly changing because when content is made around a woman's narrative it is not boring, it is not fully developed. When you explore a man or a woman outside of gender, they are both equally interesting. I feel like that's happening now, where stories are being explored from a woman's standpoint as opposed to gender. There is more material that focuses on a woman and there are more female filmmakers. It's an interesting time. We need to consume content of all kinds, both boys and girls, so that we have more of a balanced opinion as opposed to just one understanding of what desirability is. I think by watching things where women are in focus, you also get another perspective which is important. 

- Since the show like you mentioned is 'very confrontational', was there any fear of backlash when it was released?

Ans: Of all the things that I am and I am not, I know that I am not afraid. Sometimes things pay off, sometimes they don't work out so well. I don't think I feel attached to reception. Because it was received well, I feel motivated and grateful to rely on my gut feeling of making choices. But, when you do something and once you put your word to it and you are committed to something, you have to honour it with all your heart. 

-Tell us about the next season. What can we expect?

Ans: The second season of Made In Heaven is happening. I am greatly excited about the next one. While making season 1 we hoped that people would like it but we didn't know. There were so many new elements. It was a digital platform that had not fully popped. Because Season 1 has done so well, I feel like we have gone a few notches up in many areas like cinematography, the arcs of the characters and all, it feels more concentrated. The makers will have something to say about the release date soon. It means so much to us and all the people involved because it was made with the right intent and received with the right spirit. It means a lot. I wished the second season would have come out already but unfortunately, the lockdowns happened to cause a gap. But, full confidence and prayers for season 2 to come out soon. Whether people celebrate it or feel uncomfortable around it. Whatever they feel, it's confrontational about your reality. I do believe it will be a conversation starter without a doubt. I have blind faith in it because of just how authentic it is. 

 - What can we expect from Tara Khanna in Made In Heave season 2?

Ans: There is so much I want to tell you. It's like fire! When we were shooting Season 1, the energy was very different from Season 2 because with the 2nd one we went in with wanting to tell the story. And it's definitely evolved from season 1, the character, the arc, the subjects being chosen. There is so much that I actually can't wait. There's so much to speak about in Season 2. Tara can be such a bad bi**h and she's going to be "badder"!