Nimrat Kaur on joining ‘The Family Man 3’: Meera is a ‘bitter chocolate’ of a character

Mumbai: Actor Nimrat Kaur says stepping into the role of Meera in the new season of “The Family Man” was a thrilling opportunity to embrace a character shaped by charm, danger and unapologetic ruthlessness.

In the third chapter of the spy-action thriller, which premiered on Prime Video on Friday, Kaur’s Meera emerges as one of the key antagonists alongside Jaideep Ahlawat’s Rukma, with the duo pitted against Manoj Bajpayee’s Srikant Tiwari.

Kaur, known for films like “The Lunchbox”, “Airlift”, and “Dasvi”, described her character as a "bitter chocolate".

“She is a bitter chocolate, delicious as a character because she is un-achievable for a common person. The fun of playing something like that is the flamboyance, the flair, and just the unapologetic ruthlessness that you can have fun with. It's just like intoxication,” Kaur told PTI in an interview.

Kaur said she had never received an excited reaction to any of her upcoming projects as she did when she mentioned she was part of "The Family Man".

The actor revealed that initially she would answer quietly because she is generally a low-key person.

“Later, I understood that I'm getting such a big reaction from everyone and anyone, family, friends, and people, anywhere you meet them. Then I started showing off.

"Whenever someone would ask me, ‘What are you doing next?’, I would say, ‘The Family Man’ (shows attitude). It's been the most anticipated piece of work that I’ve been able to talk about, and that is a matter of honour,” Kaur said.

The 43-year-old actor praised the show's team, saying the series has always portrayed its antagonists in a complex, layered way, not as simple “villains”.

"What wins your heart on the page is bound to work, also you don't know whether to feel bad for the so-called antagonists or should you judge them. So, at the end, you're almost left confused. And that is something which I find very therapeutic,” she said.

Kaur further said she didn’t judge her character, Meera, irrespective of her negative traits.

“When a part comes to you, and when you're approaching a project, a part can’t be judged, (otherwise) it rids you of your judgments in life. You have to let go of those labels good, bad, ugly. The fun of playing a character is that you can't meet a Meera or a Rukma in real life.

"These are characters that you just have to build from the page that is given to you, with the vision that the directors have and the fun that the co-actors bring to the set, and then hope that you can do justice to it. So, I'm always looking forward to such parts, I really thrive on a set like this,” she added.

The third season of “The Family Man” will see actor Priyamani reprising her role of Suchi, wife of Srikant Tiwari.

Looking back at the earlier seasons, Priyamani said her family and friends immediately recognised the authenticity in her performance.

“A lot of the scenes that are between Srikant and Suchi, especially where they have disagreements, are very real. I remember telling Raj sir and DK sir in season one, whenever Srikant and Suchi have any sort of disagreement or argument, I can relate to it so much because such kind of disagreements happen in real life as well,” she said.

“When my family even saw the seasons, they said, ‘This is so real, this is so you, we can see you reacting like this in real life’. So, it is so real that a lot of people, my friends have texted me saying, ‘This is how we probably argue with our family members, our respective partners’. It is a part and parcel of who we are,” she added.

According to the actor, the questions she faces the most from fans is “Why did you cheat Srikant?” or “What really happened in Lonavala?” But Priyamani is in no mood to give away anything - not even a hint about whether season three finally answers those fan obsessions.

“The Family Man 3” also brings back actors Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Ashlesha Thakur, Vedant Sinha, Shreya Dhanwanthary, and Gul Panag.