Merit needs medium

Jaideep Ahlawat leads the newsroom drama; (right) Suchitra Pillai

Not too long ago, when Suchitra Pillai had Jaideep Ahlawat as a guest on her podcast, Hear It Here, she had told him that she was manifesting an opportunity to work with him. Today, she wears a wide smile as the universe has granted her wish through the second season of The Broken News. "For me, the biggest high was to be able to work with Jaideep Ahlawat. All my portions are with him. Working with him was a dream. He is an excellent actor, who helps all his co-stars on set," she says. The ZEE5 series - also starring Sonali Bendre, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Geetika Vidya Ohlyan - revolves around the rivalry between two news channels.

In her two-decade-plus career, Pillai has been seen on and off in films like Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Page 3 (2005), Fashion (2008), and shows such as Hip Hip Hurray (1998). But since her OTT debut in 2017, the actor has been constantly busy, featuring in Made in Heaven, Rana Naidu (2022) and Big Girls Don't Cry. "I am glad that I have been given so many different roles one after the other. At 53, to get these parts is wonderful, as is to work with directors who aren't afraid to experiment. I am happy with the way the web space is utilising my talent."