'Dahan - Raakan ka Rahasya', the supernatural thriller series, released on September 16 on Disney+ Hotstar. The nine-episode show, directed by Vikranth Pawar and written by Nisarg Mehta, stars Tisca Chopra as an IAS officer, along with Rajesh Tailang, Mukesh Tiwari, Saurabh Shukla, Ankur Nayyar, Rohan Joshi and Lehar Khan.
Actor Pankaj Sharma too grabbed the limelight with his character of Sachet Singh in the show, which is a dark tale of myths and superstition.
Ask him about the response the show and his character is getting from the audience, and Pankaj tells Outlook, “I would give all the credits to Vikranth Pawar, our director for making such a challenging show. Initially, I was worried about how the audience would react having watched Sachet. But fortunately, when I started receiving feedback, people told me Sachet is a breakout character, his character arc from being a saint to fierce as a warrior, is noteworthy. Mostly, people said that they wanted to see more of Sachet.”
Pankaj further says that he is lucky to work with experienced actors like Tisca Chopra, Saurabh Shukla and Rajesh Tailang. “Tisca Chopra is a very strong actress. She makes it so easy for the co-actor to react with the dialogues. Saurabh Shukla, we all know, is one of the finest actors in the industry. I'm overwhelmed to have learnt a lot from him on set. And about Rajesh Tailang, his calmness over powers the uneasiness on set. He is so humble, helping and supportive.”
Sharing an anecdote about the shoot, Pankaj adds, “Rajesh Tailang and I had a major sequence and we had no idea about what we were going to do in the scene. He was also not keeping very well that day but it didn’t show in his performance at all. I was spellbound after watching it.”
The audience felt that they wanted to see more of his Sachet after his character was killed on the show. Asked if he would have liked any other ending, Pankaj quips, “I feel that Sachet got killed at the perfect time. According to people, it was less of Sachet's journey, and due to which they remember him even more. After all, the director knows what is best to be shown.”
Pankaj will next be seen in Farzi, which marks the digital debut of Shahid Kapoor. “My character’s name is Kuldeep Sharma, who is not on good terms with the character Shahid is playing. I had always wished to work with Raj & DK. When I got selected for Farzi, I was extremely excited to meet and work with them,” Pankaj signs off.
He will also feature in another web series, which is said to be based on a Kanpur gangster.