'Every Actor's Dream To Work With Shabana Ma'am'

'There were moments where I simply couldn't look away from her.'

Excel Entertainment's new series Dabba Cartel has five women -- played by Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Shalini Pandey, Nimisha Sajayan and Anjali Anand -- run a drug operation through a tiffin service.

"When you have such talented actors opposite you, it really elevates your own performance," Nimisha tells Subhash K Jha.

You are known to be picky, so what made you say yes to Dabba Cartel?

I had no reason to say no to the project. I found the story about five women running the drug cartel to be very interesting.

And the moment I read the script, I fell in love with my character Mala. I was very excited.

And plus, Shabana Azmi ma'am and Jyothika Chechi, both were involved in the project.

It's like every actor's dream is to work with Shabana Azmi ma'am.

And as an actor, it has always been my dream to be involved in projects that give women the space to shine.

And in this one, there were like five incredibly strong women characters.

In my experience, the strong female characters were brought to life by some amazing, incredibly talented women.

And when you have such talented actors opposite you, it really elevates your own performance.

You are formidable in your right?

Seeing Shabana Azmi ma'am perform right in front of me was truly magical. She has an incredible presence.

There were moments where I simply couldn't look away from her. She's a legend in her own right.

And Jyotika Chechi, some of my favourite moments were with Jyotika Chechi.

She's a brilliant actress and one of my favourites.

I was very close to her and Anjali Anand on set. And I'm so thankful to have met Jyotika Chechi and Anjali.

What made your character in Mala relevant to you?

Mala is a character with many layers to her personality. She's a single mother. She's dedicated to raising her daughter. She wants her daughter to achieve the dreams that she couldn't fulfil for herself.

There's the scene where the daughter says, 'Mama, TV kuch zyada hi bada nahi hua hai?'

Then Mala is like, 'nahi beta, hum ghar bada lenge.'

She's a dreamer. She's bold, strong, independent, fearless.

But at the same time, she carries many insecurities, which she tries to hide by projecting an image of fearlessness and strength.

At times, she is judgmental.

But also, there's a scene with Varuna (played by Jyotika), during the emotional conversation, she makes an effort to understand what Varuna is experiencing rather than judging her.

I find Mala to be a very layered character. She has got many layers to her and she's a beautiful character.

What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on a series, a Tamil series. And one of my Tamil films is set to be released soon. I'm not sure about the date.

And I've been part of Soham Shah's Crazxy, the film which has already hit the theatres.