Karisma Kapoor plays Rita Brown, an alcoholic cop in Kolkata, in Zee Studios’ noir thriller ‘Brown’, the only Indian show selected for the Berlin Series Market 2023, streaming on ZEE5.
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Karisma Kapoor, known for her commercial Bollywood films in the 1990s and early 2000s, is ready to take on one of her most demanding roles yet. She plays the character of a cop in the upcoming drama series ‘Brown’, a noir show backed by Zee Studios, directed by Abhinay Deo of ‘Delhi Belly’ fame, and based on the 2016 book “City of Death” by Abheek Barua.
The series follows Rita Brown, world-weary, recovering alcoholic and ace detective in the Kolkata police force belonging to city’s small but influential Anglo-Indian community. She is assigned to the murder case of a young woman from a well-connected family.
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Rita Brown forms an unlikely alliance with Arjun Sinha, a widower suffering from survivor’s guilt, as they pursue an unstoppable killer.
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The series explores themes of false appearances, addiction, depression, corruption.
When the makers approached Kapoor in 2021, she instantly accepted the role, calling the character raw, human, deeply flawed. She noted that Rita Brown goes through many kinds of emotions rarely seen on screen for a female character.
Kapoor said the role stood apart from everything she had done previously. She pointed out that alcoholic cops haunted by a dark past are almost always portrayed by male actors in Indian cinema, making a female lead playing such a role a first of its kind.
Kapoor told Variety that she wanted to strip herself of all glamour and glitz to embody the character, describing that process as extremely interesting for her as an actress.
Kapoor undertook specific preparation to bring the role to life. She appeared without makeup to achieve a worn-out look for her character and learned Bengali.
She said the show pushed her out of her comfort zone, requiring her to do certain things on screen she would not do in real life.
Kapoor also used method acting techniques while preparing for the part.
The screenplay was adapted by Diggi Sisodia, Sunayana Kumari, and Mayukh Ghosh. The series stars Kapoor alongside Surya Sharma and Soni Razdan in key roles.
Veteran actor Helen, 83, who had been away from the screen since Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘Heroine’, is also making her comeback through this series.
‘Brown’ became the only Indian web series selected for the Berlin Series Market Selects platform. The Berlinale Series Market is a collaboration between the European Film Market, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, and Berlinale Talents.
Zee Studios Chief Business Officer Shariq Patel described ‘Brown’ as the studio’s first attempt at creating a truly world-class show. He called the Berlin selection a matter of great pride.
Kapoor was among the top movie stars in India in the 1990s and early 2000s. She later took a hiatus to focus on her family. She returned to acting in 2020 with the parenting-themed series ‘Mentalhood’ on ALTBalaji. ‘Brown’ is her next acting project after that.
Kapoor said that OTT platforms now allow actors to portray different facets of a character in ways that were not possible in mainstream Hindi cinema earlier. The series is going to stream on ZEE5.
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