All new avatar of Tisca Chopra for supernatural series Dahan

Unsurprisingly, Tiska Chopra nails every role she takes on. Actor Tiska disappears and the audience can only see the character she plays – be it Maya Awasthi from Taare Zameen Par, Meera Anand from Hostages and even the latest Jug jug Jeeyo.

And now she’s back as District Magistrate, Avni Raut, lead in Disney Plus’ supernatural thriller Hotstar Dahan. Beautifully shot and set in the interior of Rajasthan, the thriller is already the talk of the town. Many have compared Tisca’s subtle and nuanced performance to shades of the late Irrfan Khan.
Dahan fully brings out the versatility of Chopra, who is by turns determined, vulnerable, passionate and tender. In certain sequences, you can see her eyes doing the work of many pages of dialogue – as if she were Avni Raut.
Chopra’s effortless performances have often been compared to Meryl Streep’s, where even her skin seems to vibrate with emotion on stage. A very special mention to the scene where Avni breaks down as her son fights for his life in a hospital, this scene will go down as one of the best Indian OTT performances. Dahan will make you fall in love with Avni Raut and Tisca Chopra all over again.

Vikrant Pawar, the director of Dahan says, “I couldn’t have asked for a better actor to play Avni, Tiska really understood the character and pushed Avni to her limits. There were layers beyond the script that she discovered and presented, making Avni a living breathing character of the story. It’s a joy when you have an actor who cares about the character in the context of the story. Many times actors tend to worry only about their character and forget that it is part of a bigger story. Tiska, the first shot we shot, was always aware of what Avni represented to the story and played her with incredible poise and precise pacing. She is also kind, understanding and compassionate.” “But don’t stand in Tiska’s eyes when she is performing an intense scene,” laughs Vikrant!

While Deepak Dhar (Banijay Asia, Producer Dahan, Hostages) feels, “Tisca is an extremely talented actor, so she was an obvious choice when we were looking for Hostages. For Dahan, we also needed a strong performer with the guts and realism. The show is made of a web of complex characters with their own goals and arcs, and no one could have done it better than Tisca. She has an infectious energy when you are around her, brings joy and a lot of dedication to the set. So she’s actually a complete production actor. I can safely say that she is the lucky charm for Banijay Asia.”

Intelligent, warm-hearted and incredibly funny in real life, Chopra is a writer and director herself, having made several award-winning short films, including the twisted and layered Chutney.

With Dahan becoming the latest binge watch to storm the OTT space, Tisca is naturally excited: “We put in many, many months of hard work to bring this brilliant story to the public. So when it connects so beautifully, one is over the moon.”