In March 2020, just before the pandemic hit, viewers were left spellbound by an edge-of-the-seat thriller that left everyone wanting more. Asur, with Arshad Warsi and Barun Sobti, became an instant clutter-breaker. Now, the much-awaited second season of the series is streaming free on JioCinema. TT chatted with Barun about playing the complex Nikhil Nair in Asur and why he feels that there is more in him as an actor.

It’s always a good feeling when a show is loved so much that the audience can’t wait for its sequel....

I will be able to answer that if the second season of my other shows comes out... Asur is the first time that something like this has happened (laughs). The good thing is that I have had so many people coming up to me in the last two years asking when the next season is going to be out.

In retrospect, in a market so saturated with content, what do you think worked for Asur?

Good writing goes a long way. Gaurav (Shukla) wrote the first season so well that when I read it, I knew immediately that this would be a very impactful and powerful watch. If you embellish good writing with decent performances, then what you make is bound to be noticed.

Right after Season 1 dropped, you had told me that what worked for you in Asur was that it was “a rare show which is not the victim of surface-level writing”.... How much does the second season take that forward or at least retain it?

We all know that Season 2 of most shows don’t live up to what the first season has been. In the case of Asur, I can tell you that the second season is phenomenal. It’s been written very well, and I feel it’s turned out a few notches better than the first season.

You have played some pretty complex men on screen. Where would you place Asur’s Nikhil Nair, who is caught in extraordinary circumstances at work and is battling demons of his own....

In the last two years, I have played a variety of characters. I have played a romantic (in Badtameez Dil), this guy in Asur, and a cop in Punjab (in Kohrra), there is also a period show, a young-adult comedy.

My assessment of all these characters, in terms of their complexity and reflexes, will be subjective because everyone reacts to different circumstances differently. I believe in myself as an actor, I try and understand the character and I go and perform to the best of my ability.

Do Nikhil’s reactions to what happens in Asur mirror how Barun would react?

Unlike Nikhil, my family comes first to me. So instead of sacrificing my daughter, I would sacrifice 300 other people (laughs).

The last few years have seen you amp it up in terms of quantity. Would you say that you are doing your best work now?

I would attribute the many choices that I am getting as an actor to luck....

I am sure there are other factors too....

With so many talented actors around, I can only say that there is a certain section of the audience that likes the work that I do and hence I keep getting a variety of roles. I did a gem of a film called Halahal a few years ago. It was a very heavy role. There were many makers who saw me in Tu Hai Mera Sunday (2016) and cast me in intense roles. But I don’t think I am doing my best work now... I am barely scratching the surface....

I am someone who is always critical of my performances. I start sweating if I watch something that I have done and there is a false note in it. But I am getting there... I am improving....

Have you always been this critical of yourself?

Not really. It’s become more over the last few years. That probably happened when I saw I am decent... that I am not a bad actor (smiles), but that there is scope for improvement.

Having been a superstar on TV, how do you view the growth of digital platforms?

To be honest, when there was a revolution on OTT a few years ago — of which Asur was also a part — there was some really great content coming out. But of late, I don’t recall anything apart from Gulmohar (starring Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee) that created a huge impact on me. That was phenomenal.

When the OTT platforms started, there was a sense of adventure, a sense of achieving quality content ahead of others. But now, the majority of the content coming out is average.

Do you think OTT could eventually go TV’s way?

Some of it already has. What we are lacking in OTT now is lighthearted content. Not everyone wants to watch hard-hitting, edgy content. That’s why I thought Gulmohar was so amazing.