Shefali Shah and Sayani Gupta share the challenges of Delhi Crime S3: "These are extremely sensitive stories"

Shefali Shah and Sayani Gupta share the challenges of Delhi Crime S3: "These are extremely sensitive stories"

Shefali Shah and Sayani Gupta peel back the layers of Delhi Crime Season 3 with a mix of candour, discomfort and deep creative commitment. The new season, directed by Tanuj Chopra, continues to explore the inner world of the Delhi Police and the moral weight of the cases they take on. Familiar faces like Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Jaya Bhattacharya and Anuraag Arora return, while Huma Qureshi, Sayani Gupta and Mita Vasisht join the ensemble this time. In an exclusive conversation with IMDb, the actors opened up about the challenges and emotional homework behind their performances.

Sayani Gupta didn’t sugarcoat the toll of playing a character submerged in violence. Her honesty cut straight to the bone when she said, “Violence really scares me and it triggers me. But here I was the perpetrator in many cases. And sometimes the things that I end up doing to the girls are the things that have happened to me, or sometimes are still happening to me. And I think Celesti and these amazing girls were also so giving as co-actors. When the camera cuts, you're extremely gentle with them. But when the camera is rolling, obviously, I'm punching and hitting, and there's a lot of action happening. And weirdly I was really enjoying throwing those punches, enjoying action, as an actor. But the violence was kind of strange to deal with.”

Her words sketch a performer caught between craft and memory, between the thrill of physical acting and the discomfort of inhabiting a violent space. That duality sits at the heart of Delhi Crime’s impact this season.

For Shefali Shah, the emotional overlap between her and her character Vartika remains both an anchor and a responsibility. She described the connective tissue with striking clarity: “She's very emotional and sensitive, though she often uses it to fuel her strength and to get the correct things done. I think she's brutally honest, which I love about her. She's vulnerable, but at the same time, when there is a crisis, she shuts out her emotional side, and focuses on doing more. I am very similar to her in all these aspects, besides the fact that we look like each other.”

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Shah went deeper into her process, revealing the meticulous preparation that never shows on screen but shapes every moment. “I don't even know where to begin. One is, these are extremely sensitive stories. With this kind of sensitivity, there has to be responsibility. And then long sessions with Tanuj and deciding what to keep, what not to keep and, I’m not exaggerating, breaking down every word. Because, the switch of a word can make a lot of difference in a sentence. It's a lot about what the thought is, what the feeling is. And then, after all this study, the moment the word action goes, you forget all of it and start all over again.”

Season 3 of Delhi Crime seems set to balance action with psychology, and procedure with humanity. The cast’s reflections hint at a season built not just on tension, but on the inner storms that shape every decision the characters make.