A still from Sacred Games

Also Read: Seriously, go easy on the 'gochi', okay?

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Subhash is no stranger to getting into the thick of a character. The National Award winner has won accolades for her roles as Aasawari in Sandeep Sawant's Shwaas (which was India's official selection for the Oscars in 2004), and is a coveted Marathi theatre and film actress. She made her Hindi debut with Nandita Das's Firaaq, and this year was also seen as Razia Sheikh, Ranveer Singh's mother in Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy. With such a large body of acclaimed work behind her, it's surprising, even humbling, to know that she auditioned for her role in Sacred Games. "I don't mind it at all. Filmmakers want to see how will you look in that particular role. I had just cut my hair, as I wanted a change, and then Nawaz called me for the premiere of Manto. I went there and met Vikramaditya, and two days later got a call from the casting director. The scene I had to act out was the first one in the show, where you first meet Yadav. I heard they auditioned many people, but eventually, Anurag said 'this is my KDY'." As she says, ironically, the character of Yadav in the book is a male one. "I believe that the universe gives what you ask for. I wanted to do a different role, and I got a man to change into a woman, for me to play that good role!"

If she is bothered by the flak that the show has been getting, staying true to her role of the unflappable Yadav, she doesn't let on. "I think the creators didn't go with what the audiences wanted. They went with what the content needed, and that's not always easy to do. The first season was more on the surface, about Gaitonde's life. This is going inwards, and any inward journey is not pleasurable," says the 43-year-old.

For Subhash, it's been an exciting ride ever since as a child, she saw her mother, actress Jyoti Subhash (who plays her mother-in-law in Gully Boy), on stage. "She was so different at home, and I used to be awed at the transformation. I was a shy kid, and I realised the only place I wasn't shy was on stage. Theatre is my favourite though. I look at the whole graph of a character, so if you ask me to play a scene from the middle, I know just how to get there," says the National School of Drama alumni who was taught by stalwarts such as Satyadev Dubey. For now, she is getting ready for another movie and web series and promises us we will see her on-screen soon. "I just keep asking the universe, whom I call my lover, for whatever I want. I believe this—what you seek, is seeking you!"

Also Read: Sacred Games 2 Web Series Review: Getting the pulse and patter of Bombay right

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