Exclusive! Sonali Kulkarni was blown away by the people of Dharavi while shooting Dharavi Bank

National Award-winner Sonali Kulkarni plays a pivotal role in the newly-released web series Dhavani Bank, which also stars Suneil Shetty and Vivek Oberoi. Speaking to OTTplay, the actress says that even though the world of Dharavi wasn't unknown to her, as she is a true-blue Mumbaikar, she realised the spirit of the place and the people who live there through the show.

The story of the web series Dharavi Bank is set in Dharavi, Mumbai, which is one of the largest slums in Asia, with a dense population. It revolves around a cat-and-mouse game between Thalaivan, a man with a Rs 30,000 crore crime nexus, and JCP Jayant Gavaskar, who is on a mission to break the nexus and catch Thalaivan.

Speaking to OTTplay about the series, Sonali said, "I was quite well-versed with Dharavi and the world wasn't unknown to me. Being a Mumbaikar, I knew that Dharavi is not just a slum where thousands of people live, but it makes the city work! One of my drivers lives in Dharavi, as does one of my house staff. Since my mother-in-law is a doctor, through her NGO she goes there for awareness programs on health, hygiene and breastfeeding. That way, I am aware of the grassroots level of reality."

However, she added that during the shooting of the web series, she had her share of realisation.

"The show is written from very real space and it shows how the people of Dharavi risk their lives every single day to keep the city of Mumbai alive. The spirit of the people over there, their resilience and the hard work that they do even though they live in suffocating conditions, and how they carry a sense of dignity that they earn through their work — everything was fascinating for me to observe," she shared.

Directed by Samit Kakkad and produced by Zee Studios, the show also stars Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi and Akshay Poptani. It is streaming on MX Player.