‘Amazon MX Player’ recently launched its gritty cop drama, ‘Kaptaan’, set against the charged backdrop of Jwalabad. The series pulls viewers into a volatile world driven by power, ambition and constantly shifting loyalties. Headlined by Saqib Saleem and Siddharth Nigam, ‘Kaptaan’ also boasts a stellar ensemble cast featuring Anjumm Shharma, Kavita Kaushik, Poojaa Gor, Anushka Kaushik and others.
Directed by Jatin Wagle and produced by Pammi Baweja and Harman Baweja, under the banner of ‘Baweja Studios’, ‘Kaptaan’ leans into a space where justice rarely plays out in black and white but lives somewhere in between. At its core is SSP Samardeep, played by Saqib Saleem, an instinct-driven encounter specialist who operates on his own terms, shaped as much by his past as by the system he’s navigating.
Opening up about what drew him to the role, Saqib Saleem shared, “Honestly, the first thing that stood out to me was that Samardeep doesn’t try to be a hero. He isn’t chasing validation. He walks into a room and the energy shifts. That kind of presence is rare to find on paper. Also, he speaks very little, which works great for me. In real life, too, I’d pick fewer lines and more attitude any day.”
“But on a serious note, what really stayed with me is that everything he does comes from a deeply personal place. He isn’t fixing the system out of the goodness of his heart. He is doing it because something within him is fractured. That emotional undercurrent made the character far more compelling to explore as an actor,” he added.
Speaking about his camaraderie with Poojaa Gor, Saqib said, “Poojaa is an incredibly sorted actor and person, which, honestly, can be a little annoying because I’m neither. But she brings a certain calm to both the set and the scenes. Our characters share a layered, complicated relationship and off-screen, we spent a lot of time discussing what’s left unsaid, the subtext, the backstory. Those conversations really added depth.”
“She also has a great sense of humour. So in between intense scenes, we were mostly joking around and pulling each other’s legs. It helps keep things balanced; otherwise, a show like this can get quite heavy while shooting,” he concluded.