Having dabbled in television, films and the web, actor Hina Khan is now all set to foray into a new medium. She will soon be seen in Zee Theatre’s upcoming teleplay titled Shadyantra, which is touted to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller packed with psychological intrigue. Woven around primary human impulses of greed, ambition, self-preservation and revenge, it also stars Chandan Roy Sanyal and Kunaal Roy Kapur in key roles.
The teleplay narrates the story of a married couple, Rohan Tiwari and Natasha Malhotra Tiwari. Natasha is the heiress of a construction company but leads a contented life far removed from business intrigue. Then a shocking murder changes Natasha’s life forever and investigating police officer Mohan Khanna arrives to solve the mystery.
Talking about trying her hands at a play for the first time, Hina says, “I am delighted that my desire to work in a play has been fulfilled and I am making my debut in theatre with Shadyantra. I play Natasha who is very naive, trusting and giving but then a tragedy forces her to look at her life and her relationships more closely and then her instinct of self-preservation kicks in. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the character and the whole process as I always wanted to do theatre. This teleplay has given me an opportunity to be part of the theatre fraternity and I am hopeful to be part of more teleplays in future.” The actor was last seen in the film Lines (2021), the poster of which she unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. It also won her an award at the UK Asian Film Festival.
Kunaal, who plays a detective in the teleplay says, “I play a cop for the first time, we have tried to create a more sensitive character, who goes about his job without drawing too much attention to himself. It was nice to try to give Mohan a certain depth and nuance that we are unused to seeing in mainstream portrayals. It was wonderful to be a part of this project.”
Shadyantra is rather special for Chandan as it reunites him with theatre, which he has always been passionate about. “I am deeply rooted as an actor in the discipline of theatre as a stalwart like Habib Tanvir, Tim Supple and Alyque Padamsee mentored me. I have been connected to the stage all through my career and it is very fulfilling to experience the joy of table readings and long rehearsals once again. What I also liked is that the characters in Shadyantra have more than one shade. My character is a smooth-talking charmer but also switches between different moods seamlessly,” he says.
Discussing the teleplay, Shailja Kejriwal, Chief Creative Officer – Special Projects, ZEE Limited, says, “We are thrilled to premiere Shadyantra which is part of our mission to produce original and engrossing contemporary plays for audiences and make them select theatre as their entertainment option. Shadyantra also has strong psychological undertones like Gas Light, which was a 1938 thriller by the British playwright Patrick Hamilton and continues to be referenced till date. The play outlines the subtle way that women are often led to doubt their own instincts. There is also an element of suspense and a thread of strong sisterhood that sets this story apart.”
The murder mystery teleplay is all set to air on Tata Play Theatre on December 18. It will also be available on Zee5.
