Hemant Kher gained popularity through Hansal Mehta’s web-series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020). He played the role of Harshad Mehta’s elder brother Ashwin in the Pratik Gandhi-starrer.
Kher will now be seen in a completely different avatar as a cop in OHO Gujarati’s upcoming web-series titled Aazaad (2022). The trailer of the show tells us that it’s a murder mystery where a young woman is murdered in mysterious circumstances.
Police inspector Ranjeet Chauhan (Kher) takes over the case. The trailer focuses on his interrogation on several murder suspects. Each person interrogated is different from the other in terms of the psyche and traits.
Chauhan’s interaction with the suspects also gives rise to some witty humour. The one that stands out is a man who tries bribing the cop. This also gives an idea that the show will have an undercurrent of humour as well.
Over the last two and a half years, there have been countless Hindi web-series that have explored a murder mystery. It will be interesting to see whether this Gujarati series will stand apart from those. The trailer does carry that hope.
Kher does well to showcase an interesting character of a police officer who is quiet at one moment, but can explode with anger out of nowhere.
Kher shared that he is happy to have got a chance to act in a Gujarati show, which he couldn’t before as people thought he was from north India. “I am very very excited and emotional,” he said in a statement. “It feels Gujarat has fulfilled my long-cherished dream. I will always be grateful to OHO Gujarati for casting me in this role.”
“I have been working in the Hindi industry since last 20 years and since my surname sounds like a north Indian one I have faced a major identity crisis as a Gujarati,” he explained. “People have perceived me as non-Gujarati, but I am 100% Gujarati, hailing from Kosamba in Surat district. And to be precise I am Surati, Gujarati. And that’s why as a tribute to my people I have used Surti accent for my character in Aazaad."
Directed by Kewal Mistry, Aazaad is due to be streamed on OHO Gujarati from 9 September.
Watch the trailer and let us know if you would be keen to see the show.