Tisca Chopra, shape shifts yet again in her new supernatural series Dahan

MUMBAI: It’s no surprise that Tisca Chopra nails each role that she takes on. Tisca the actor disappears and the audiences can only see character she plays – be it Maya Awasthi from Taare Zameen Par, Meera Anand from Hostages, and even the most recent Jug jug Jeeyo. 
And now she’s back as District Magistrate, Avni Raut, headlining the Disney Plus Hotstar supernatural thriller Dahan. Beautifully shot and set in the interiors of Rajasthan, the thriller is already the talk of the town. Many are comparing Tisca’s, subtle and nuanced performance as having shades of the late Irrfan Khan.
Dahan gives full play to Chopra’s versatility, who is, by turns determined, vulnerable, passionate and tender. In certain sequences you can see her eyes do the work of many pages of dialogue - it’s as if she is Avni Raut. 
Chopra’s effortless performances, have often been compared to those of Meryl Streep, where even her skin seems to vibrate with the emotion of the scene. A very special mention of the scene where Avni breaks down when her son is fighting for his life in a hospital, that scene will go down as one of the best performances on Indian OTT. With Dahan, you will fall in love with Avni Raut and Tisca Chopra once again. 
Vikrant Pawar, the director of Dahan says, “I couldn’t have asked for a better actor to play Avni, Tisca really understood the character and pushed Avni to her limit. There were layers beyond the script that she discovered and brought forward which makes Avni a living breathing protagonist of the story. It is a joy when you have an actor who cares about the character in context of the story. A lot of times actors tend to only worry about their character and forget that it is part of a larger story. Tisca, the first shot we took was always aware what Avni was to the story and played her with incredible balance and accurate pitch.
On top of it, she is kind, she is understanding and she is compassionate.” 
“But don’t stand in Tisca’s eye line when she is performing an intense scene,” chuckles Vikrant! 

While Deepak Dhar (Banijay Asia, producer Dahan, Hostages) feels, “Tisca is a supremely talented actor, so she was an obvious choice when we were looking out for Hostages. For Dahan as well, we needed a strong performer with the grit & realism The show is made of a web of complex characters with their own agendas and arcs, and no one could’ve done it better than Tisca. She has an infectious energy whenever you’re around her, she brings joy and a lot of dedication to the sets. So, she, in reality, is a complete producer’s actor. I can safely say she is lucky mascot for Banijay Asia.” 
Intelligent, warm, and incredibly funny in real life, Chopra is a writer and director herself, having made several award winning short films, including the twisted and layered Chutney.  
With Dahan becoming the latest binge watch to storm the OTT space, Tisca is naturally excited, “We put in many many months of hard work to bring this brilliant story to the audiences. So, when it connects so beautifully, one is over the moon”