Rita Brown, the cop protagonist in Brown played by Karisma Kapoor, doesn’t speak much. Yet, there is palpable emotional baggage and melancholy, which reflects in her body language. Talking about her role in the series, which began streaming on ZEE5 on June 5, Karisma credits her director Abhinay Deo for detailed discussions on how to approach the role. “A lot went into creating Rita — lots of discussions about the in-depth feeling of her body language, how she should feel, and how burdened she is. She doesn't even say much yet you can still feel that pain.”
The Brown actor casually mentions that she is very happy not being too active as an actor anymore, adding, “If I sign up for anything today, it should really excite me to come to the sets. I did Brown precisely because it was so different. It was a lot of fun doing this, being with this cast in Kolkata, feeling every moment of Rita's being over there.” Talking about the workshop process, director Abhinay Deo recalls, “All my actors and I discussed stuff that may not be on paper. We discussed what Rita’s childhood was like, why is she or her associate Arjun (Surya Sharma) like this. It was the most fun that I’ve had — painting each character with its finest details.”
Besides exploring the psychological nuances of its characters, Brown also impressively captures the atmospherics of Kolkata, a city rarely seen in Hindi films or shows. That was a significant theme for him, Abhinay says. “The script is adapted from a book called City of Death. So, by the name itself, the city came in first and then the characters living there. The city is the first character that shouts out at you. I was clear that Kolkata would definitely stand out as one of the primary characters — that idea dictated the entire visual landscape of the show.”
Unfortunately, despite having gone on the floors earlier, Brown arrives in the wake of shows like Dahaad, Daldal, and Aranyak among many others, which too revolved around female cops. Reflecting on the subject, Abhinay states, "When we started, we were actually one of the first ones to come up with a female cop-led series. None of the other shows existed at that point. There was no pressure then, and now it’s too late to take any pressure." At the same time, Abhinay clarifies that the goal was never to set a trend, stating, “Our intention was to make this great book into a show, and it so happened that it was about two cops, one psychiatrist and a whole bunch of other characters to bring alive the spine of a crime thriller. The day you take that pressure to create something unique, you will struggle to make a piece of art. You can’t second-guess 1.4 billion people. So, the whole idea is to do what you feel is right, with honesty. That's the best way to go about it, and And that's what we have done.”
Karisma made her debut 35 years ago, with Prem Qaidi. A lot has changed since then, obviously, but what exactly, I ask her. “For one thing, the mere idea of workshops before going onto the shooting floors,” Karisma says, adding, “I have done many films, but the kind of intense prep work that happens today, never used to be there back then. We wouldn’t even have a script those days. I think actors now are very lucky. Today, we get a chance to sit and work with the director, the technical team, the actors. During Brown shoot, everyone was in sync with each other, because we had a lot of workshops with plenty of detailing since each actor has their own pace. I really enjoyed the process of making everything come to life.”
However, one thing remains constant for her all these years later — Karisma still doesn’t watch her own movies. Ever. It’s the prerogative and job of the audience, Karisma says. “I don't think I've ever been an actor who can just sit in a chair and say, ‘oh, that's me.’ Never. Maybe, occasionally I will go to the show, see inside — that's it. I do my job, I see people’s reaction. As long as the audience is happy, that is what's important,” she concludes.