Anupriya Goenka Talks About Her Role in ZEE5's New Series Khoj

MUMBAI: Actress Anupriya Goenka shares her excitement and insights about her latest venture, the highly anticipated ZEE5 series Khoj Parchaiyo Ke Uss Par. The series presents a gripping narrative set in the modern digital era, bringing a fresh perspective to a captivating storyline.

Anupriya, who plays the character Meera, says, “I chose Khoj because I absolutely loved the storyline, and my character had so many layers to explore. During the narration itself, my first instinct was that this role would allow me to do so much. At times, the character is docile, while at others, she’s angry, assertive, or even playing the victim. She’s understanding of her husband and his mental state, but she also keeps the audience guessing by being manipulative, devious, and unpredictable. The variety in the character’s graph was incredibly exciting for me. I also admire Sharib as an actor and had always wanted to collaborate with him. On top of that, the producer, Samar, is a dear friend of mine. I have a soft spot for ZEE as a studio, having recently worked with them on Berlin and previously on The Final Call. There’s a sense of familiarity with them, which made this an easy decision for me.”

Speaking about the series' connection to the original show, she adds, “Yes, it is completely inspired by the movie Khoj, and while the storyline remains largely the same, the key difference lies in the time periods we’re exploring. The original film was set in the 1970s or 80s—a time without telephones, social media, or digital photography. Back then, photo albums were the only way to preserve memories, which made it easier to tell a story like this because the husband wouldn’t have too many proofs or pictures of his wife. In contrast, the 2024 setting comes with its own challenges. We live in a social media-driven age where everyone has a camera on hand, and taking pictures has become second nature. It’s all so interconnected now, which made it much more difficult to adapt the same story to today’s world while keeping it logical and believable. Although the ecosystem, atmosphere, and worlds are vastly different, the storyline remains largely the same. We’ve worked hard to ensure the film feels as logical and relevant as possible.”

On her co-stars Sharib Hashmi and Aamir Dalvi, she shares, “I’ve worked with Sharib on Asur, and I absolutely loved it. We’re both very comfortable with each other—at least I am! I get to tease him a lot. Initially, we did this photoshoot where we were playing a couple, which was so different from our roles in Asur. We were just laughing about how unusual it felt, especially since the photos had me holding him, kissing his cheek—all that stuff. I kept teasing him throughout, and it really helped break the ice in that frame.On set, we had a rollercoaster of a time because we were always cracking jokes. Sharib and the director have the worst sense of humor—they’re the masters of PJs. Sharib would crack a joke every minute, most of them being PJs, but it kept things light and fun.This was my first time working with Aamir, and he’s such a contrasting personality. Sharib looks, sounds, and behaves like this jovial, funny, light-hearted guy, while Aamir comes across as very serious and intense. But he has a wicked sense of humor too! As an actor, he’s quite surprising and keeps you on your toes. Overall, I had such a great time working with both of them. I don’t think there’s much I can say about them that people don’t already know, except that Sharib’s PJ game is unbeatable. He’s the absolute master of it!”

‘Khoj: Parchaiyo Ke Uss Paar’ promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller, delivering a fresh take on an iconic story with a stellar cast and gripping narrative.