The Family Man 2’s Sharib Hashmi recalls watching Samantha Akkineni’s ‘incredible’ performance in interrogation scene

The Family Man actor Sharib Hashmi has gushed about working with Samantha Akkineni in the second season of the show. While Sharib reprised his role as JK Talpade, Srikant Tiwari’s colleague, in the new season, Samantha made her digital debut as the antagonist Raji.

The Family Man 2, created by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK and starring Manoj Bajpayee, debuted on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month. The new season has been received enthusiastically by audiences and critics alike.

Recalling his first meeting with Samantha Akkineni on set, Sharib Hashmi told Bollywood Hungama in Hindi, “I have two interactions with Raji; the first time she kicks me in the behind, and the second time she shoots me in the behind. It was amazing working with Samantha. We didn’t get to spend too much time with each other. The first time I saw her was on the monitor. I arrived on set for the jail sequence, even though I wasn’t required to be there. I saw her in full get-up, costume, and in character, when I went to the monitors. She was in the zone, and her performance in the interrogation scene was incredible. It was nothing like what I’d seen of her before. She’s transformed herself completely, from her look, to her body language, to her personality. It was amazing to see her perform.”

Asked to complete the sentence ‘what fascinated me the most about Samantha’s act in The Family Man 2 was her…’ Sharib said, “Her eyes.” He continued in Hindi, “She has communicated so much with her eyes, and given such a fabulous performance. When I think about Raji, I think about that shot of her in the trailer, where she’s sitting. It’s electrifying.”

Recently, writer Suparn Verma admitted that the interrogation scene was among the most difficult to craft. “We researched the atrocities that happened during the civil war in Eelam. The kind of struggle that people went through that time is horrifying and we wanted to bring it out and she (Raji) is literally a child from that generation who has undergone so much that her story by itself is so powerful that she doesn’t need words,” he told Bollywood Hungama in an interview.

Also read: The Family Man’s Suparn Varma reveals why Manoj-Samantha’s interrogation scene was most tough to write

Sharib also addressed fan demands for a spinoff centred around JK. He said that he hasn’t spoken to Raj and DK about it, but would be pleased if something like this ever comes up. A third season of The Family Man is in the works, but Manoj Bajpayee has said that it could take at least two years.