Ashutosh Rana plays a corrupt and power-hungry politician, Jagannath Rai, in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s upcoming web-series The Great Indian Murder.
The show, an adaptation of Vikas Swaroop’s novel Six Suspects, revolves around the murder of Jagannath Rai’s son Vicky Rai, played by Jatin Goswami.
Rana had a good time shooting for the show and he credits Dhulia for this. “I have had a wonderful journey with him because he is a great director and writer and a fabulous actor, so the combination in itself is so great. And art is not his profession, it’s his nature. When you work with someone like that, they push you to your limits, and you see that you have created a new horizon by pushing your boundaries,” said Rana in a statement.
He added, “Whenever I work with him, I find myself turned into a more refined actor and one should work with such people because they don’t believe in reaction but in responding. That brings out the collective activity and I get immense pleasure working with him.”
The Great Indian Murder is mainly about the investigation into Vicky Rai’s murder by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer Suraj Yadav (Pratik Gandhi) and deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Sudha Bharadwaj (Richa Chadha).
Stating that Dhulia is one of the best directors today, Rana also opened up on how an actor should work with him. “If you are working with him, you have to go unprepared on the sets,” he said. “The scene is written but he gives you many kinds of tasks on the sets to perform that character in a way that is the truth of the moment. So to enjoy that truth of the moment, you have to go unprepared. It’s like a small step and a big journey, and he has explored the psyche of the characters in The Great Indian Murder very nicely.”
The Great Indian Murder will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar from 4 February.