Anupria Goenka on Criminal Justice: Fulfilling as a woman to take up such roles

Anupria Goenka in a still from Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Door

Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors bravely brought to light the different forms of abuse against women. If it tackled marital rape through Kirti Kulhari's track, the series, through Anupria Goenka's character, depicted how emotional abuse and childhood trauma can leave a deep impact on the strongest of us. Goenka shone bright in the second edition as her Nikhat Hussain evolved into a clever and compassionate lawyer.

Thrilled to be nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Series) at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards, she gives credit to Apurva Asrani's nuanced writing. "He brought a string of successful women and showed how patriarchy hit us all. He showed how even a liberal man like Madhav Mishra falls prey to it, without realising it," she says. As part of prep, she spoke to female lawyers to understand their approach towards cases involving women.

In the past few years, Goenka has bagged pivotal roles in Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and War (2019). But the Disney+Hotstar series remains the closest to her heart. "It is fulfilling as a woman to take up such roles. [Domestic abuse] is not only prevalent in Tier-2 or -3 cities, but also in urban set-ups. We hoped that our project would bring about some change or start a discussion at least. I realised the show's [power] after I received messages from survivors [who could relate to it]."

Did you know?

Nikhat's character doesn't feature in the original British series.

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Anupria Goenka has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Series) for Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors. The other nominees are:

. Maanvi Gagroo: Four More Shots Please 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
. Neena Gupta: Masaba Masaba (Netflix)
. Rasika Dugal: Mirzapur 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
. Sheeba Chaddha: Bandish Bandits (Amazon Prime Video)
. Tabu: A Suitable Boy (Netflix)

Log on to www.hitlistottawards.com to cast your vote.

You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

Voting lines close on February 9.