Exclusive! Shweta Basu Prasad: In a courtroom, a lawyer can go really ugly to win an argument

The actress plays a lawyer for the first time in the show Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach, says the experience was eye-opening

Shweta Basu Prasad, still from Criminal Justice : Adhura Sach

Actress Shweta Basu Prasad is a popular face in Hindi cinema and currently garnering praise and fame by playing versatile characters in multiple OTT projects. The actor has recently been seen working with Pankaj Tripathi in a legal drama. She is narrating the character of a lawyer named Lekha in Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach. In conversation with OTTplay, Shweta shared how the process of making the show offered her a deeper understanding of ethics and morals.

Asked about what is the best takeaway she had as an actor after portraying the character of a lawyer, Shweta told OTTplay, " I think a deeper understanding of morals and ethics. Of course, in the show, we are talking about laws and how lawfully, Lekha is trying to prove something when fighting the case, but certain things are also applicable in our daily life. You see, when we defend ourselves we advocate some ideas, and put our argument on the table. For a lawyer in a court, the courtroom is a battlefield. To defend a client, she can really go ugly and say nasty things, hurt people to a low level within the framework of the law and logic."

She continued, "But there comes the moral and ethics. In real life, like me, Shweta will not go to that extent immorally, unethically to win an argument, the way Lekha does in the show. That is the takeaway, or you can say my realisation after going through the process of acting in the show."

The story of the show revolves around the murder of a young girl Zara Ahuja, who is also the daughter of a famous actress Avantika Ahuja. The prime suspect in the murder is Zara's brother Mukul. Through the investigation of the murder, the story gets unfolded, and from greed to the involvement of drugs and how youngsters get into a darker side of society - plots are revealed.

As part of her preparation, Shweta created an additional backstory for a better understanding of her character.

Sharing her reason behind creating such backstory for the character, Shweta said, " I think for an actor like me, the creative process is more important than the final result of the show. It is always about the journey. When I started reading the script I realised that even though it was a well-written character, I wanted to bring more nuances to it, in my performance."

"Keeping that in mind, I started writing a backstory with answers to some of my own questions about her upbringing, her choice of films, movies, whether she goes to live music concerts or clubbing for chilling etc. You see, all these elements are part of any individual's personality, no matter which profession you are in."

"After writing the backstory I sent it to our writing team and we took it forward from there. It was an interesting process for me," she added.

The show is directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Applause Entertainment and BBC Studios India.

The show also features - Pankaj Tripathi, Gaurav Gera, Swastika Mukherjee, Kalyanee Mulay, Purab Kohli and Gaurav Gera among others.

Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

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