Shweta Basu Prasad on her role Roshni in Huma Qureshi's Maharani 4

Shweta Basu Prasad since young has been surprising and amazing us with her performance Her credentials and experience speak for itself The year has been productive and elaborate for the National Awardwinning actor After Oops Ab Kya the Hindi adaptation of Jane the Virgin Criminal Justice A Family Matter she is set to appear in Maharanirsquos fourth season As she plays Roshni in the SonyLIV series also starring Huma Qureshi and Vipin Sharma Prasad opens up to midday about her approach to work the blurring lines between mediums and her new ventures as a filmmaker and entrepreneurExcerpts from the interviewHow do you manage to ensure that you pick different rolesI find it boring to do the same kind of roles look the same way and perform the same roles I like challenges I feel that I am blessed that I have the opportunity to reflect on life for audiences and life is never similar Every life is unique and I make it a point to read a lot travel extensively and meet people The more I learn and meet different people the more I realise that there are so many different kinds of people in this world and so many stories to tell It is my responsibility to make my roles diverse and unique every time Even if itrsquos two projects a year Irsquom pretty content with that as long as itrsquos good work with good people and Irsquom telling good storiesLR Shweta Basu Prasad and Huma QureshiDoes being a National Award winner or your lifersquos trajectory change the way people treat youNo Thank God I donrsquot like being treated differently at all When Irsquom on set Irsquom a very simple person But I am consumed and focused on my work So my phone is away social media is deleted or uninstalled Irsquom either reading a book or sketching with pens and pencils Maharani was a very friendly set and I made some lovely friends But usually Irsquom a very inandout actor I keep to myself and I go to work and come back homeWhat was the prep like for Maharani 4We had readings with all the actors technicians the director and writers But therersquos something I do on my own mdash I write a backstory for my characters Of course the first three seasons worked as backstories in themselves but I wrote Roshnirsquos journey from season one to season four mdash her late teens to early 20s Itrsquos got nothing to do with the actual story I share it with the makers sometimes they like it and even incorporate parts of it and sometimes they correct me It makes the process interactive and collaborativeWhile it may not seem so has Maharani posed any kind of challenge for youEvery character is challenging for me Just because Irsquove been working as an actor for 20 years does not mean itrsquos a cakewalk ever Irsquom very nervous before any project starts On the first day of shoot Irsquom extremely nervous about how Irsquom going to pull it off Irsquom always learning and unlearning Irsquove never been to theatre or film school so I donrsquot have any formal training Irsquom always learning on the jobYoursquore an outsider who grew up in the industry How has the industry treated youYes Irsquom an outsider who grew up in the industry but they have been very kind and wonderful to me When the time is right people do receive good offers and good projects I think my career has been an example of thatThe lines between Bollywood South cinema and OTT are blurring Has that opened more avenues for youNot just for me but for everybody I think itrsquos more democratic when everybody just sits on the same plane Earlier there was no democracy when it came to big films Like I remember Iqbal 2005 which completed 20 years this year was released alongside No Entry mdash a big commercial film with Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor Iqbal had smaller posters and fewer show timings But it saw massive word of mouth ran for 60 days in theatres and became taxfree I saw that entire journey as a 14yearold I believe that the audience always has the power to choose what they want to watch mdash and theyrsquove always done that Now with OTT itrsquos even easier and more democratic Thatrsquos why the blurring of lines is important Itrsquos not TV actors and OTT actors and film actors and South and North Indian actors mdash itrsquos all mixed up and thatrsquos how it should be Itrsquos art It should not be based on region or languageUp nextOn the film work front Shweta Basu Prasad just wrapped up her debut Malayalam film set to release early next year She has another movie and a series in 2026 The actor has also turned entrepreneur with a clothing brand last week CSharp a line of clothing and accessories dedicated to musicmusic lovers and musicians