Zoya Hussain: Learnt from him, as a student

Having bagged Best Actor nomination at Hitlist OTT Awards, Zoya Hussain credits Grahan co-star Pavan Malhotra for enhancing her craft

Grahan revisited the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by telling a tender father-daughter story. If Pavan Malhotra brought his experience to his role, Zoya Hussain brought maturity and restraint as she played his cop-daughter Amrita Singh. Her performance has fetched her a Best Actor (Female): Series nomination at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards. Thrilled at the honour, Hussain is quick to point out that having a talented co-star in Malhotra enhanced her act. “It was so special for me that he played my father. It’s amazing to see somebody who is at the top of their game, and yet so dedicated. As a student, it was exciting to watch and learn from him. When you have someone you admire as your co-star, you channel that [admiration] into your performance,” she explains.

Inspired by Satya Vyas’s novel Chaurasi, the series plays out across two different eras and studies the aftermath of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. It follows Hussain’s character Amrita who learns about her father’s long-held secret when she reopens the Bokaro riots case. The actor says it was necessary to bring out Amrita’s moral dilemma when she is compelled to choose between her father and her sense of duty. “She is a fairly young officer, so we wanted her to be naive and idealistic. Plus, she has been the only child. So, her father and she are dependent on each other. Her life revolves around her father and her job. We wanted to show how she navigates it and does what she set out to do.”

Did you know
Zoya Hussain made her Bollywood debut with Mukkabaaz (2018), which also saw the Grahan director Ranjan Chandel as a writer.

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Zoya Hussain has been nominated in the Best Actor (Female): Series category for Grahan. The other nominees are:
>> Huma Qureshi (Maharani)
>> Mithila Palkar (Little Things S04)
>> Pooja Bhatt (Bombay Begums)
>> Ridhi Dogra (The Married Woman)
>> Samantha (The Family Man S02)
>> Surveen Chawla (Decoupled)
>> Sushmita Sen (Aarya S02)

Log on to www.radiocity.in/hitlistawards 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 March 18.

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