Bidita Bag plays a dreaded murderer in the garb of a prostitute in ZEE5 web show Abhay 2. (Photo: ZEE5)

Actor Bidita Bag is unleashing her “lustful and murderous side” in the ZEE5 series Abhay 2. Bidita, who was last seen in Bhaukaal, believes there haven’t been many female characters who turned dreaded killers on the Indian silver screen.

Abhay, directed by Ken Ghosh, revolves around SP Abhay Pratap Singh from Special Task Force (Kunal Kemmu), and the heinous crimes he solves, while also fighting his personal crisis. Bidita appears in its second season, in the episode titled The Lustful Murderer. She plays a prostitute who kills men but the reason behind the killings is the big mystery of the story.

During an Instagram live session with Indian Express Entertainment, Bidita got candid about playing the bloody character Saloni, working with Ken Ghosh and why commercial success important to her.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

How was it playing ‘The Lustful Murderer’. Was it mentally draining and were there any apprehensions?

I’m very different from my character in real life. Yes, the costume and make-up department really worked hard on me to make me look “lustful”. Ken Ghosh told me that I needed to look sexy so eventually, I started feeling sexy. You’ll also see here, I’ve both gained and lost a lot of weight. I even took out all my frustration by killing people there (laughs).

It does get emotionally draining, to enact the same murder scene again and again from different angles. And then the blood we use during shooting is very sticky. The apprehensions which I had before the shooting were gone after meeting Ken Ghosh.

Were you convinced with playing such a character for the first time? It had a very Gone Girl vibe.

You pick up Indian films, you won’t find many female murderers. We do have such characters in Hollywood films but their body language is very different, their stories and struggles are different too. My character’s background is from UP. So I had to keep her rawness intact. It was also important for me to understand her back story as to why she became a murderer. Above all, my episode was written well.

Apart from the logistics, was getting into her psyche difficult?

It takes time to get into the character, but that’s the work of an actor. Big stalwarts can easily switch on and off, but not me. The problem is, when you go to sleep, you get ideas that I could’ve killed in this particular way or given that expression. You even dream about someone chasing you, and you are either the victim or the killer. I did spoil my sleep because of all that.

Bidita Bag in a still from Abhay2, that stars Kunal Kemmu in the lead role.

Tell me about working with the cast of Abhay.

Kunal Kemmu texted me after Abhay 2’s release, appreciating my work. I didn’t know where to go and hide (laughs). But the response is great, people are liking my character. That’s what we work for, to get audience appreciation. Everyone was very chilled out on set. There was fun, but also a lot of serious work. The best part was they began and packed-up shoot at the right time. Even the actors were very professional. So, everyone’s energy level was at its peak and things went off smoothly.

You’ve played a few characters who come from a small town. Do you feel typecast?

I get more roles of a village girl. Though I wish to do some urban roles too. I try to do characters which are different, and less of the typical hero-heroine story. There should be a balance in life.