Karan D Kapadia Reveals He Ensured Aneet Padda was Cast in Hunkkaar: The Roar: I made sure she came on board

In 2024, while preparing for Big Girls Don’t Cry, Karan D Kapadia and Nitya Mehra came across an article related to sexual assault that ignited the idea for Hunkkaar: The Roar.

Fatima Sana Shaikh and Aneet Padda starrer is streaming on JioHotstar and is continuing to win over the audience, with viewers and critics hailing is as the best show of the year. “The article resonated with us,” says Karan, adding that social evil needed to be showcased. “We also wanted to celebrate the system. There’s so much gloom around us all the time, this was a story of hope,” he adds.

The six-part courtroom drama revolves around a 17-year-old girl’s fight for justice against a self-styled spiritual leader. Nitya Mehra, on bringing the story to the fore with Kapadia, says, “I felt that we neede to change the narrative. (Most) headlines are about the survivor. While Karan and I are not trying to take away the horror that survivors go through, it was imperative to focus on the good fight.” The series brings together Fatima Sana Shaikh, Aneet Padda, Raghubir Yadav and Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub.

Kapadia sees no limitations in the acting range of Aneet Padda, irrespective of the medium. He says, “I don’t think it (the medium) matters.” The filmmaker knew Padda was an apt choice to highlight the survivor’s story. Kapadia says that he “fought” to get Padda on board. “The minute we were done writing it, I knew she had to be cast. I fought for that and made sure that she came on board.”