Lara Dutta on working with Vishal Bhardwaj: 'Pray there are many more opportunities in future'

Lara Dutta has completed two decades in acting. She started her career in 2003 with the late Raj Kanwar’s Andaz and in 2023, she collaborates with Vishal Bhardwaj for his web show Charlie Chopra and The Mystery of Solang Valley on SonyLIV. It also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Neena Gupta, Wamiqa Gabbi, and many more.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Lara Dutta spoke about her character, working with Vishal Bhardwaj, and shooting in Solang and Manali. She said, “He was on my wish list for a very long time. We had an opportunity of working together twice in the past which for whatever reasons, the universe at that point of time didn’t allow that to happen. So both of us were very determined that this time, come what may, we are going to fulfill this.“

The actress added, “ Working with Vishal Bhardwaj is I think every actor’s dream. It’s just something that you have to experience at least once in your career. And I genuinely hope and pray that there will be many more opportunities that will come in future.”

On the shooting locations

The show was shot in Manali, Solang and Kothi which is even higher in altitude. We filmed this in February and it was absolutely freezing. In fact, my first day of shoot was in deep snow and it was possibly the hardest day that we shot. We always joke that our directors like to throw us off the deep end on day one itself because then, from there everything else becomes a cakewalk. The conditions were very challenging for the entire unit to shoot but it just brings this most amazing atmosphere and stunning locales.