In an intimate conversation with The Pioneer, the versatile and accomplished actress Shahana Goswami pulls back the curtain on her creative process, sharing insightful reflections on her latest role in Kanu Behl’s gripping series Despatch
In a world where drama often takes center stage, Shahana Goswami’s understated yet powerful performances have become a beacon of nuanced storytelling. With a career spanning over a decade, Goswami has solidified her position as one of India’s most versatile and sought-after actresses. From her breakout role in Naseeruddin Shah’s critically acclaimed Firaaq to her captivating performances in Rock On!! and Viceroy’s House, Goswami has consistently proven her ability to bring complexity and depth to her characters. With her latest role in Kanu Behl’s Despatch, she once again showcases her remarkable range and talent, delivering a nuanced and emotionally charged performance that leaves a lasting impact.
In a gripping series like Despatch, she delivers a nuanced performance, navigating the intricate web of relationships and moral dilemmas. We had the opportunity to sit down with her and discuss her approach to her role.
When asked about her character’s role within the layered narrative of Despatch, The Honeymoon Travels Ltd fame shared, “To start with, Shweta’s character, though she is a journalist, she’s a financial journalist, and it’s never really explored in the film because you see her only with respect to being Joy’s wife. So the dynamic that you see between them is purely a husband-wife relationship, and the journalistic aspect is never, it never plays out between them.There was nothing specific in terms of the layering of the realities of the journalistic world that came into play. It was more the layering of the emotional realities of that.”
According to Shahana, the portrayal of women in male-dominated industries like journalism is often secondary or unexplored. However, she believes that Despatch offers a refreshing take on this trope. “I think it’s best to watch the series and form your own opinion. But I can say that Despatch features several strong female characters, and the storytelling does a great job of explaining what makes someone brave and the power that can be hidden behind someone who’s perceived as brave,” the Rock On fame shared.
She credits her nuanced performance to the direction of Kanu Behl. Known for his exacting and meticulous approach, Behl’s process can be demanding, but Goswami found it to be a collaborative and rewarding experience.
“Kanu is definitely somebody who is exacting, but the beauty with him is that his exacting is not with him knowing what he wants,” the Firaaq star explained. “It’s to discover, and he wants to discover it with you. So, the great thing is that his desire is only to keep driving till the point that we find something new, till we find something unexpected, till we discover a chance upon a reality that may not come obviously to you, but in that moment, playing it out again and again, you end up exploring or coming across or stumbling upon a different reality or different way of expressing and reacting and responding.”
When asked about how Despatch challenged or expanded her creative boundaries, Goswami credited director Kanu Behl’s method of working. “It’s to do with Kanu’s method of working and how he works,” she explained. “Starting from the workshop process, we really went down to the bare bones of the character, the histories, the shared histories… it was a really very, very interesting process.”
However, when asked about her character’s relationship with the themes of power and truth within the media world, the Ra.One star noted that this aspect of the series did not apply to her character. The dynamics between their characters is emotionally and psychologically complex and she shared her insights on what makes this relationship so compelling.
She noted that this dynamic was carefully crafted through extensive discussions and workshops with her co-star Manoj Bajpayee and director Kanu Behl. “We would keep finding the right kind of choreography through those emotions and things while doing the scenes,” she said.
When asked about her character’s role in reflecting the moral decay of the central protagonist, the Break Ke Baad fame clarified that her character’s dynamic with the protagonist doesn’t necessarily serve as a mirror to his moral decay. “I don’t think that there is any specific moral decay that this dynamic shows in his character, except for just a failed marriage and a possible aspect of philandering,” she explained. “But that’s never really expressed to be the case. He’s already kind of separated from his wife… so him having a relationship with somebody else is possibly something that happened after the separation.”
Despite having limited screen time in Despatch, her performance leaves a lasting impact on the audience. When asked about her approach to ensuring her character’s impact, she humbly attributed it to her enjoyment of the process. “I didn’t do anything to make sure. I only played the part and enjoyed playing the part, and I liked the character, the draft, and the journey, and the process.”
Goswami also appreciated the opportunity to do multiple takes with a specific focus on discovering deeper truths. “It’s not just doing take after take for the sake of it, but with very specific motivations towards going deeper, finding more truth,” she said. “Allowing yourself to fatigue to a point where you then discover something new… it felt very natural and very safe.”
