Ek Thi Begum (Season 2) is more intense, has more action, says Anuja Sathe, the show's Ashraf

The first season of MX Player’s Ek Thi Begum was about Ashraf aka Sapna (Anuja Sathe) trying to avenge the death of her husband Zaheer (Ankit Mohan). Zaheer is killed at the behest of gangster Maqsood (Ajay Gehi) who operates from Dubai. The second season will see Ashraf inch further towards her goal of vengeance.

The trailer for Ek Thi Begum (Season 2) showed Anuja Sathe’s character and the show in a new look. But Sathe told Cinestaan.com that her character remains the same.

“The character and the basic idea to build the character have not changed," she said. "The revenge remains the same. She has become fiercer towards her goals. In the first season, she went to whatever lengths [she had to] to achieve what she wanted. But the second season will be more intense because she will try and get closer to her goal.”

The actress said this has been one of the more difficult, and strong, characters she has portrayed so far. She said it was taxing, both physically and emotionally, for her to go through the various shades of Ashraf.

Though Sathe had done all the hard work of getting the character right in the first season, she still found the second season challenging “because we have a lot of action sequences. Also, this time we have shot at different locations. That was also a challenge as we were shooting in Himachal Pradesh in the mountains. The scale of the second season is much bigger.”

In the second season, the actress also explores the new relationships her character builds. "There are new enemies, friends and situations. The interpersonal relationships of the characters matter a lot,” she said.

One of the highlights of the first season was Ashraf’s sweet relationship with police officer Bhosale, played by Chinmay Mandlekar. “He [Mandlekar] is a sweet guy," Sathe said. "We obviously knew each other because the Marathi film industry is very small, everyone knows everyone, but we hadn’t worked with each other.

"It was a great experience. He is a very good actor. It’s all about action and reaction in a scene. If I make an action, it has to be reacted to in a certain way, and vice versa. This happened wonderfully with him.”

While underworld stories have been explored a lot in Hindi cinema, Ek Thi Begum is different in that it has a female protagonist. “People like to watch what is not explored much,” Sathe said. “There are so many stories related to the underworld which people would want to know. I think to make what the audience finds exciting, entertaining and something that makes them happy is the job of the filmmakers.”

The other challenge for the makers was that the second season was shot during the pandemic, unlike the first. “You have to maintain physical distancing on the sets where there are many people,” she said. “All precautions are taken by the production and platform people. But after a point, it becomes our personal responsibility. All the actors and crew members were very responsible.”

Following COVID-19 protocols also meant the shooting was delayed as working hours were reduced. “If we used to finish half the sequences in 12 hours, we could finish only a fourth now," the actress said. "But we stuck to the [COVID] protocols. That’s why it took a bit longer for us to finish the entire shoot of the season.”

Sathe has acted in all four media — theatre, television, cinema and now web-series — and says the medium doesn’t matter. When it comes to selecting a project, what matters is the script. “Then comes my character; as in what character do the producers and makers see me in. If I like it, it’s a yes from my side,” she said.

The actress agreed that expectations are higher from the second season of any show and Ek Thi Begum is no different. “I have tried my best and given 100% as an actor," she said. "I hope people love this one. They will surely get to see something different.”

Given the popularity of the first season, Sathe has a few more projects in the offing. “But I can’t talk about them right now," she said. "Also, the situation is such that if I say I will be shooting for something next month, we don’t know for certain because of the times.”