'Candy', an edge-of-the-seat murder mystery directed by Ashish R Shukla, has Richa Chadha and Ronit Roy slipping in and out of a range of emotions with great felicity. While Richa plays a cop who is determined to crack a murder case, Ronit plays the mentor of a student who was killed under mysterious circumstances.
In an interview to Showtime, Richa and Ronit talk about their experiences of working on the series, what impressed them the most and why they call web series a comfortable space.
Richa found the idea and execution of an investigating officer a challenge. "There are many shades to this character. At the core of it, she is a mother, wife and homemaker. On the other hand, she's a ruthless cop whose quest for truth and justice takes her into the dark alleys even as danger lurks around every corner," says Richa.
Enacting the tough demeanour wasn't an easy task for her. "I observed a few female police officers from a distance and also interacted with some of them to understand how they remain tough in a largely male bastion. I had to work doubly hard. I picked up a few tips and tricks of investigation from the lady cops that I interacted with," she recalls.
Ronit, who plays a teacher deputed to a hill station, perfectly complements Richa's role. "I play a man who is already carrying trauma and has come to this hill station to teach children and escape from a life that he and his wife are condemned to. He loses his daughter to a problem that is shrouded in mystery and he doesn't want the same fate to befall the rest of the children. He is trapped in a battle between the past and the present," says Ronit.
His character is at loggerheads with Richa because the two are after the same thing but prefer different paths.
Ronit and Richa are always known to step out of their comfort zones and choose roles that call for some extra work. "I had to play a cop whose tough exterior gives way to a well-intentioned person towards the end. I was given the freedom to tweak the dialogues of my character to bring out the two shades. This added to the boldness of my role," says Richa.
Being both a parent and teacher in the series was an interesting dimension to his role, says Ronit. "Everybody has a good and an evil side to them. Balancing the two to make sure they don't cross each other was a difficult proposition," adds Ronit.