Acclaimed filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s first OTT venture City of Dreams saw a Godfather-esque battle of succession between two siblings, one qualified and another a man. We saw an attempted assassination of a controversial politician, and how his son and daughter went to extreme lengths to stake claim over his throne. In the end of season one, the daughter Poornima Gaikwad (Priya Bapat), emerged as the winner.
Now, after a long gap of two years, the show is back with the second season, furthering Poornima’s story as the interim Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This time, she faces a bigger enemy, her father Ameya Rao Gaikwad (Atul Kulkarni) himself.
Apart from Atul Kulkarni and Priya Bapat, City of Dreams also stars Eijaz Khan in the lead role, who plays Senior Inspector Wasim Khan. In a free-wheeling chat with News18, Eijaz talked about the much-awaited season two, and what’s in store for his character, specifically.
Describing the upcoming season, Eijaz said, “Wasim happens to be Purmina’s most trusted ally and strength. Poornima is the interim Chief Minister and she has to figure out if she can stake claim to the Chief Ministership. But her father, Ameya Rao Gaikwad, will not let go of it so easily. So this is the war between father and daughter for the Rajya and how all other characters are drawn into the war.”
In season one we saw Wasim Khan finding the criminals behind Ameya Rao’s attempted assassination. By doing that, he was trying to reclaim his lost glory. Talking about Wasim’s journey in season 2, Eijaz shared “Wasim has always been a realist, and that is why it has been very difficult for him to come to terms with what is happening in the real world. He understands that some people have to be the villains and some people have to take the higher moral ground because they need votes. Some people will always be soldiers and some people will be sacrificed in the journey. He has been a part of the political turmoil that has been going on. If you see in season 1, he was one of the reasons why the Gaikwads could control the docks. In this season, it will be elaborated.”
He further added, “Earlier in season 1 he was more selfish. He was thinking about his own games and he was trying to reclaim everything he lost. But here he realises the bigger picture — how a person like Poornima Gaikwad needs to helm the state for the betterment of everyone. That is one of the reasons why he is supporting her.”
Getting into the skin of his character was challenging for Eijaz in season two. “I thought that there would be no need for preparation. I thought that I knew Wasim Khan very well. But I was sadly mistaken. When I went on set, I used to have slight problems and sometimes it used to be a hit and miss. But when I came back from Bigg Boss and I started shooting there was no problem. We had very hard-hitting scenes, so sometimes they drove the performance. So that made it very easy for me. And we have a director like Nagesh Kukunoor, who can easily take the scene wherever he wants,”
He also described how the filmmaker helped him on set. “I loved working with him (Kukunoor) in season 1 and in season 2 I came to set thinking that ‘Oh my god, he is going to have higher expectations from me,’ and that led to some performance anxiety. But I confessed to him that I was having a problem. Every time I am trying to do a scene, I am trying to compare this Wasim Khan from the one from the first season. But he told me that it was natural. He said, ‘Give it your best and keep it as honest as possible and it will come through.’ And if there was any problem, any anxiety, I used it in the scene.
“There is a scene where I am looking at my hands shivering, and that was happening to me because I was unwell. Three months back I had typhoid, and when I came on set I was very weak, and my mind would get clouded sometimes. So I used that to my advantage in my performance, so it worked out pretty well,” Eijaz revealed.
Between season one and two of the show, Eijaz also participated in Bigg Boss 14. He was a strong contender on the show and was speculated to be a finalist. However, he had to exit the show mid-way to complete shooting for the web series. Devoleena Bhattacharjee, who replaced him on the show, was soon eliminated. While his Bigg Boss journey was cut short, Eijaz said that the way City of Dreams season 2 turned out made up for it.
“I am very very excited for City of Dreams season 2. I got out of Bigg Boss for this, I had to finish my shoot. I wanted to finish my shoot. I think it paid off, it has come out very well. I saw some of the parts while dubbing for a few scenes. I know people who have edited the show have told me about parts that are kick-ass. I just want as many people to see it because we worked really hard on it, and it’s a very good show,” he signed off.
City of Dreams season 2 also stars Sachin Pilgaonkar and Sushant Singh in pivotal roles. The show will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on July 30, 2021.
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