Actor Pankaj Sharma, an FTII passout, best known for Dahan, Farzi, and Beta Settle Kab Hoyega, is all set to feature as an STF officer in the upcoming web show UP 77.
The actor gets candid about his role and working experience in the series.
Pankaj says, "I am playing Shikhar Rana, an STF officer who is an encounter specialist, is known for being strict and firm about his work."
Sharing about how he prepped for the character he mentions, "When I came to know about my role, I started watching a couple of videos of past encounters and later on came across the real STF officer’s interviews whose role was being played by me. I often used to sit and listen to him and the way he thinks, talks and operates. I worked on my body language and other required skills to be that tough officer. It really helped me get into the skin of that character and I hope I have done justice to it. Also, our creative producer Chanakya really helped us in the research work and explained the real incidents and graphics. We were trying to figure the best look for the focal characters and for that we approached a quite talented makeup designer Payal Bhatia, who has already designed my look in Dahan. She came on board and designed mine and Vikram Kochhar’s look for the show."
Giving insights about the show he says, "It’s a real-life story based on a Kanpur’s Gangster who died in an encounter. The whole journey of how brutal he was and how STF officer and his team caught him is shown and is very interesting."
Talking about his working experience in the series Pankaj states, "Honestly , it was an amazing experience working in UP 77. We shot in real and raw live locations as well as studios which added depth to the major sequences . The live locations were mainly typical villages in UP where the villagers were extremely supportive. The whole cast and crew were superb and hardworking. It always felt like home. Every one in the cast is talented and mostly they all are trained actors from theatre background and mainly from either FTII or NSD. Vikram and I play the leads. He is a great co-actor to work with."