Asha Negi opens up about challenging role in Criminal Justice 4, breaking her ‘girl-next-door' image with it

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

The gripping legal crime drama Criminal Justice has returned with its fourth season, once again featuring Pankaj Tripathi in his acclaimed role as lawyer Madhav Mishra. This time, the story revolves around a complex murder case within a troubled family, presenting three conflicting versions of the truth. Joining the cast are Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla and Asha Negi, each playing pivotal roles in this intense and emotionally layered narrative. (Also Read: Asha Negi says she still gets 'so many gaalis from fans' for breakup with Rithvik Dhanjani)
In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times, Asha Negi spoke about being a part of the hit franchise. She plays Roshni Saluja, Zeeshan's girlfriend, who is murdered. Asha opened up about her limited screen time in the series and why she chose to take on the role despite that.
Asha revealed that it was the story and the nature of her character that drew her in, 'because for the longest time people have seen me play the girl next door and those kind of roles. And I really want to experiment and do something different. When this show came to me, we all know it's a great show, the character, even though the screen time is less, it has so much to do. It has a lot of layers, and it was very challenging to play this.'
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She described the most demanding aspects of bringing Roshni to life and said, 'Most of the days were quite challenging because when you're working opposite actors like Zeeshan Ayub. I had so many scenes with him and he's such a fantastic actor. So when you have scenes with somebody like him, you have to buckle up and bring your A-game, right? You can't just do anything and get away with it. So most of the days were quite challenging and most of the scenes that I did were challenging, which is amazing because it also helps you push as an actor and helps you learn and grow so much.'
Asha admitted she had initial doubts about accepting the role, 'I was sceptical that my character dies eventually, toh kya hi hoga iska (what will happen to her) but then I was told to read the screenplay and character brief and I was like maybe yeah, screen-time is less but there are times when the character is very impactful. So it's one of the most beautifully written characters. It was also so challenging, I felt like I didn't know if I'd be able to do this or not, it seems difficult to me. But whatever I had, I gave it my all.'
She also shared that nervousness is a part of every project she does and added, 'I am always nervous before starting a project. I get sleepless nights when I am about to start a new project. So, even this time, I was nervous. But it was so fun, you also see your growth and how much you learnt.'
Criminal Justice 4: A Family Matter premiered on JioHotstar on May 29. However, only three episodes have been released so far, leaving many fans disappointed. Directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, new episodes of the show will drop every Thursday.