Making her debut in Bollywood is a big step for Parul Gulati, who has built her career in television and web shows. That her maiden Hindi film would be one that is led by Manoj Bajpayee, was the icing on the cake. “I had seen Silence... Can You Hear It when it was released on ZEE5 during the lockdown. When they told me the part was for the sequel to the film, I was determined to give my best in the audition. I asked for two days to prepare nicely because I wanted to land this role,” says the actor, who was told two days later that the role is hers, if she chooses to accept it.

While Gulati composed herself when director Aban Bharucha Deohans offered her the role in Silence 2: The Night Owl Bar Shootout, she cried tears of joy after receiving the news that her hard work had paid off. “My character Aarti is a handful and very different from who I am. She is a corporate woman, so I dressed in one of my best office attires and prepared a one-and-a-half-page monologue. I asked the casting director to give me all the input the director had suggested for the role. I wanted to impress him with the audition. After all, Manoj Bajpayee is one actor everyone wants to work with at least once in their life. I was overwhelmed when I got the role and had tears in my eyes because I hadn’t signed any work for some time,” says the actor, adding that though she has less screen time, Gulati was a nervous Nellie on the first day of shooting.