Aishwarya Sushmita: Being a director, he knows actor’s problems

Aishwarya Sushmita

When choosing a project, actors usually go by their roles, the story and the director. But the first thing that drew Aishwarya Sushmita to Bad Cop was the cast. "I got a message from the casting director that director Aditya Datt wants to meet me for a show. It's the lead character opposite Gulshan Devaiah. He also mentioned that Anurag Kashyap could be the antagonist," she recalls.

Anurag Kashyap plays the antagonist in Bad Cop

That was enough to pique the actor's curiosity about the Disney+ Hotstar show, which is an adaptation of the German television series, Bad Cop: Kriminell Gut. When Sushmita met the director, he told her about her character Kiki, a con artist who teams up with Devaiah's Arjun. "Kiki stood out for the character graph and her complexities. She has a compassionate side too," says the actor, who was seen in Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022). The role required her to perform her own stunts. Recalling how she was injured after a scene, she says, "When the cab windows were blasted [for a scene], I got hurt by the glass shards and was bleeding. So, the action was risky. Gulshan would tell me to be extremely careful."

How was her experience of working with Kashyap? She describes the filmmaker-actor as "a wealth of knowledge". "Even if you speak with him for five minutes, you'll treasure that conversation. He is honest, and won't sugar-coat things." Sushmita was struck by his thoughtfulness during a scene featuring them in a moving car. "During the shot, Anurag sir understood that dust was going into my eyes due to the blower that was being used. Being a director, he understands the actor's problems and addresses them."