Priyanka Setia on her upcoming psychological thriller 'Khauf': It's a deeply emotional journey and a story of fear and survival – Exclusive

Priyanka Setia

Priyanka Setia is a powerhouse performer with over a decade of experience across theatre, film, and digital platforms. Trained under Pankaj Kapur, she has acted in 25+ stage productions and earned acclaim for her roles in hit series like Sacred Games, Rudra, Guilty Minds, Aranyak, and The Office. Priyanka works extensively in the theatre industry and is best known for her roles in Poor Box Productions’ The Vagina Monologues, Shikaar and Blank Page. On the big screen, she’s known for her impactful performances in Begum Jaan, Khufiya, Hawaizaada, and Haseena Parker.

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Coming up next, Priyanka steps into the chilling world of psychological horror in Amazon Prime Video’s new original series Khauf, set to premiere on April 18. Created and written by Smita Singh, and directed by Pankaj Kumar and Surya Balakrishnan, the eight-episode series is a gripping, edge-of-the-seat thriller. In an exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol.com, Priyanka opened up about her upcoming series and what went into bringing such an emotionally intense role to life.

When asked about what drew Priyanka to the role in Khauf and how did she prepare to step into such a psychologically intense character, she said, "It's been written very beautifully by the writer Smita Singh and the showrunner. She's also the showrunner. So, it's just, you know, on paper, it's so beautifully written that as an actor, you understand a lot of things. And there was always Smita on set and the directors on set whom we could ask. So, for preparation, I kind of did my work as I do with my characters, like trying to understand them. I know it is a little controversial statement when I say that I do a little back story, but I don't know any other way to get into a character's skin if I don't do a back story. With back story, it just doesn't mean, back story means, where was he in life till now? What has happened in his life till now? How is he? And what has happened to him in this series or in this movie or in this series, what has happened to him now, how will he change in future? So, that is my preparation as an actor. I obviously read the script multiple times and I kept asking Smita if I had a question, but just to get into the skin of the character, I think I just went deeper and deeper into the character of Reema and tried understanding her psychology, as in, where is she coming from, the family background. She has a husband, a little daughter and also she is pregnant. So, she is a victim of patriarchy, like her husband and the saas wants a male child, she has a girl child and she is already pregnant. She is scared if this is also a girl, it will not sit well with the saas and the husband. So, you have to see in which stress and pressures where she is coming from. And then whatever happened, the incident, on top of this, whatever happened in the hostel, in that lady's hostel, how is it impacting her, the guilt, the fear, the insecurities in which she is living. So, that is how I went with her."

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Khauf series explores deep psychological themes. Priyanka shared if there was any particular scene or moment during filming that left a lasting impact on her.

"So there is a scene in the series where at night these girls, how unsafe Delhi is and what really girls face you know which is a common part of our life. Because I am a girl from Delhi, I know that this is so common and so accepted by all of us. Is this, there is a scene in the web series where the auto driver takes us out of the auto. So then it is night, it is 11.30 pm, it is winter time, it is 11.15-11.30 pm and us four girls are walking towards him that we should get another auto or a bus. So we are just walking on the street and it is night, it is winter time in Delhi and so we are just walking and the makers, the director, the show runner didn't tell us that this is going to happen. It came as a surprise to us, it was not written in the script, it was just creatively decided on the set and we four actors are walking and we were also shooting, we are shooting at least around like 1-1.30 in the morning and suddenly four bikes come or five bikes come and the boys shout and go, like eve teasing, like hey or something, the boys make sound and those of course were our ADs and our costume people just like normal, our production guys, our set people but it was not planned and my God it was so scary. It was so scary because that trauma we have been, we as women know this, like our bodies know this, we have been subjected to so much eve teasing and so much physically, like men touching us while passing in Delhi streets or like passing a comment or like physically touching you and so we have been subjected to it so much that even then you know every time it happens the body goes into like some kind of a shock, like there is a you know some like an anxious reaction to that."

Priyanka shared the most challenging part of being an actor, and how did she overcome those challenges

"The most challenging part of being an actor is to deal with the amount of time we have on our hands, I think, when we are not working. That is the most challenging part because your mind is going into various places and you can get in, you can get this whole, you know, anxious about stuff and worry about your future and you don't know when is the next project coming, the instability, and you know, you're just going mad, you're like, you are questioning everything. Am I not good enough? Why am I not getting work? Is it my fault? What are they looking for? So, you know, you're always grappling with these questions and I think that is the most challenging part of being an actor. How do you tame your mind and discipline yourself as an actor in the times when you don't have any work? That is the most challenging part, honestly."

Priyanka also revealed how she stays motivated and inspired when faced with rejection and criticism, she said, "I think, in the life of an actor, rejection is like a part of it. I mean, I feel that when you are on the line to become an actor or you are becoming one, then you start getting rejection so slowly that in the beginning, I think, you go through all the phases of it. Like, first you're angry, you're confused, you're not understanding what is happening, you're mad, then you cry, you grieve, and in the end comes acceptance. Acceptance that it is out of your control. Acceptance that I did my best, it is not my decision to take."

Priyanka also advised young actors and said, "There are many, many things, jin ki wajah se ek actor ka cast kiya jaata hai. That could be age, how they look, if they match the character, how they speak, how close they are to the character, basically and financially, you know, like if some actor is charging more, so they will always go for somebody who is willing to do the same work in less price, you know, so there are many factors, you know. It's not that ki aapka kaam acha nahi hai. Toh mujhe aisa lagta hai ki aap accept kar lete ho usko. Toh maine toh accept kar liya hai ki apne time, you just have to keep doing your work and because there is no other way to have sanity. There's no other way. You can cry, you can crib, you can do whatever you want to, you can shout, you can get anxious, how much ever you want to, nothing's gonna help. So basically accept and then just like engage yourself, engage yourself with making art. If you like read or create something or watch something nice or you know, that's what actors do, you know, work on your body, work on the movement, the rhythm of your body, understand your instrument well. I think, yeah, that is how I kind of face my rejection or criticism because, yeah, that every day is a new day and koi baat nahi. It's okay. I will do my work and leave control over the rest. That's it."