Actress Barkha Singh is in a good space right now as two of her shows Criminal Justice: A Family Matter and Lafangey have done well. In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, she said, “I am very grateful. It has been a good past two months as both the shows in Ormax ratings are in top 5 for over a month. Lafangey was at 5 and it’s now at 4. And Criminal Justice has been on number 1 since long. As an actor, to be a part of both the shows is an amazing feeling. But that being said, there is always room for improvement. There is hope that I do more. Like work with bigger directors and do challenging roles.”
EXCLUSIVE: Barkha Singh on the possibility of Criminal Justice season 5, “My journey has just started in the show, so it shouldn’t end so soon”
Criminal Justice sees her play the young and ambitious lawyer Shivani Mathur. “From the regular roles, I got to do something more serious,” she said. “So, obviously I wanted to prove myself, not only to the audience but also to other filmmakers and people who cast me in the show that I can do this. Personally, I feel I enjoy doing these serious and technical roles better.”
In order to get the complete hang of the show, Barkha said that she minutely read even those scenes where her character isn’t speaking; even the ones where Pankaj Tripathi and Shweta Basu Prasad’s characters are arguing in the court. “I got to know the meaning of all legal terms in the script,” she said. “I had researched on them because at times you are required to react in a particular scene.”
To have some close family friends who are lawyers also came in handy for her. “Whenever someone had to improvise the courtroom scenes on the sets, we had to ensure that we get the legal terminology right,” said Barkha. “So, I used to call my friend and ask how I would say a particular thing in a legal terminology. Even if it is not my dialogue, I used to help others. I am that kind of over-enthusiastic person (laughs).”
Barkha pointed out that before this show, she had done glamorous roles with a good amount of make-up. But she decided to look different in this show. “Here I have only tied my hair. I have not used make-up, except mascara and lip gloss. I also, kind of, worked on my body language,” she said.
Barkha is all praise for Pankaj Tripathi. who plays the lawyer Madhav Mishra. “Pankaj sir is very funny,” she said. “But being funny is secondary; firstly, he is very caring. The most important part is how are your co-actors, especially the senior ones. In the past, without taking any names, I have worked with other co-actors, who have been like not helpful. But Pankaj sir is not like that. He is very collaborative. If I ask him how to make a particular scene more interesting, he used to help and suggest a few things. Even off screen, he used to tell interesting stories about his struggling days.”
The actress also revealed that Pankaj Tripathi’s food is cooked on the sets. And like him, she too is a vegetarian who prefers home-made food instead of fancy items like pastas and salads. But being a vegetarian also gave rise to funny situations with the show’s director Rohan Sippy. “This is very funny actually,” said Barkha. “Rohan Sippy sir is a die-hard non-vegetarian. So much so that the vegetarian people make fun of him, like me.”
But Sippy made a comeback of sorts in a funny way. “Once in my vanity, a spot boy came with a dabba and said that Rohan sir has sent,” she said. “I was like, this is so sweet. When I opened, I saw it only had rice and one lettuce leaf! (laughs). He jokingly used to keep saying, ‘Tum ghaas poos khaate ho’. When Pankaj sir came to know that Rohan sir and Shweta used to make fun of me for being a vegetarian, he used to pass over dal from his food to me, even though I used to get food from home. So, as much as the show was serious, the crew was equally non-serious.”
Sippy was up to the task though when it came to the shoot. “He is 100% strict but for a reason,” said Barkha. “Like, he is quite strict with his AD team. But he would scold an actor only when you haven’t done your homework. Like, if he sees that you are doing masti on set and then you are unable to remember your lines. But I, like a topper, used to remember all my lines.”
With the fourth season of Criminal Justice doing well, it is obvious for the audience to expect the next season. When asked whether season 5 is in the offering, Barkha said, “Mujhe toh kuchh nahin bataya. I don’t know. Earlier, it used to be BBC but now it’s not there. I don’t know about their plans. But I really hope that season 5 is made because my journey has just started in Criminal Justice, so it shouldn’t end so soon (laughs).”
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.