It's the first time my project has worked," chuckles Sikandar Kher. Almost 12 years since his foray into the industry, the actor is winning acclaim for his brooding performance as Daulat in Ram Madhvani's Aarya on Hotstar. "I am almost never excited about my work because I have done a lot of projects and none of them have fared well, besides Romeo Akbar Walter [2019]. [In these years] my reaction to work has ranged from extreme excitement to acute disappointment. Now, I have directed all my attention to choosing solid stories."

Kher reveals that he was not on Madhvani's radar, but bagged the part thanks to a powerful audition. "Casting director Abhimanyu Ray tested me and Ram liked the audition. He extracted a performance out of me that left me surprised. There are directors, and then, there are makers; Ram is the latter."