It is almost 20 years since filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma introduced Isha Koppikar as the ‘Khallas girl’ in his 2002 hit film, Company. After dabbling in various south projects and making her web debut with Fixer in 2019, the actor is back with Dhahanam. The MXPlayer crime thriller, produced by RGV, narrates the story of a son avenging his father’s death. While playing a cop isn’t new for Koppikar, who was seen in the avatar before in  Kya Kool Hain Hum (2005), this one was different. “My character is a crime controller. She is thrown into a male-dominated heartland where all the perpetrators are hardcore gangsters and Naxalites. It was quite challenging to be there without feeling intimidated,” says Koppikar, who plays IPS officer Anjana Sinha in the series directed by Agasthya Manju.

Koppikar, who has been refusing to take up projects unless it is “in accordance with what I wanted in my career as an actor”, didn’t have to second guess when she got the call from Varma. “He is someone who has the guts to do things that are out of the ordinary. Whenever you get the call, rest assured, the project will always be well thought out and your role will be justified,” says the actor, who reminisces how after Company, she worked with the filmmaker again in Darling (2007) and was surprised to be offered a “role of a demure housewife, which was contrary to my image”. “This is the first time I am playing a cop in an RGV production. I don’t doubt his judgment. He gave me one line from the entire series and [I was hooked],” adds Koppikar.