On its March release, Taj: Divided by Blood received mixed response from the audience, but lead actor Aashim Gulati won praise. We’ll see more of him in the upcoming second season, titled Taj: Reign of Revenge, as his character Prince Salim bays for blood. For the actor, it’s a high to play a role so far removed from his real self. “I like that I don’t get to be Aashim for a change. When people call me Salim, a prince belonging to a dysfunctional royal family, it feels great,” he shares.

The ZEE5 series — also starring Naseeruddin Shah and Sandhya Mridul — is a culmination of Gulati’s eight-year journey in showbiz during which he featured in Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara, Karn Sangini and Tum Bin 2 (2016). With the historical drama, he says that people have started taking notice of his acting skills. “The industry is still taking time in recognising that there is more to me than the Greek God looks that are spoken about. Now that I am finally getting to play parts like this, I feel all that I did led me here. As a kid, it was my dream to see myself on a billboard. Now, living it feels surreal.”