Actress Asheema Vardaan who impressed the audience with her role as a schizophrenic villain in Abhay 2 on Zee5, is back with Dev DD season 2. She is reprising her role as Devika in the new season. She speaks to Indulge about her character and how she has evolved as an artist.
Tell us about your role in season 2 of Dev DD - how has the character evolved? What can the audience expect from it?
The narrative continues from season 1. This time all the emotions of love, passion, grief, sorrow and friendship are lot more intense. The writing is very interesting and characters are fleshed out well. As an actress, there was a lot I could discover about my skill while I was performing the role. The show is a take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya’s Devdas, but with a female perspective. It has been adapted to the sensibilities and feelings of today’s youth. It revolves around the life of Devika, a simple girl with complications in her relationships. As the show progresses you get to know how you realise that though she is a rebel, she is a simple girl at heart who only wants someone who she can love.
What's your perception of your character Devika?
Devika is a modern girl. She is someone who lives on her terms. She has her own set of value system. She would go to any length for the people she loves. But if you mess with her, then she is up for teaching you a lesson! It was quite a challenging character because I’m nowhere close to what Devika is. Hence discovering her body language, her core, her essence was an interesting process for me. Also revisiting this character after more than a year was a challenging but fun experience.
From playing a schizophrenic villain in Abhay to Devika in Dev DD - how challening is it to play such starkly different roles?
To be very honest I don't choose such roles. I just accept whatever roles get offered to me. Yes, sometimes it is challenging to understand the character. I lead a simple life, so sometimes I tend to judge the character for whatever she is doing. There have been times when I have judged Devika, I forget that as an artiste I may evolve but the character Devika will be the same. It is challenging to strike a balance.
What is your take on Dev DD - the kind of subject it explores and how season 2 is also highlighting the LGBTQ angle? Do you think it's necessary now to speak more openly about relationships, what women want and homosexuality?
The show talks about Queer Marriage which is an important topic and needs to be discussed. It's saddening to see that our law doesn't view Queer couples as regular couples which leads to social stigmatisation and ostracization. Season 2 discusess feminism, sexism and homophobia which are usually brushed under the carpet. My character Devika is challenging and dealing with these issues openly.
What are you working on next?
I completed shooting for a web film in Hyderabad.