Pratibha Ranta on Stepping into a Dark Theme & Playing Meera: She’s fragile, flawed and deeply human

Some stories are about representation, those that make the audience feel seen and heard. On this note, the trailer of Accused, headlined by Konkona Sen Sharma and Pratibha Ranta, has been released today. The psychologically layered drama explores themes of sexual harassment, gender-based conflicts at workplace and queer relationship.

When an expert surgeon Geetika, played by Konkona Sen Sharma, and her partner Meera, played by Pratibha Ranta, also a doctor, are ready to adopt a child, the former is accused of sexual harassment at her workplace. It highlights gender-based issues at workplace. Set in London, Accused explores how this affects the bond of the queer couple.

Pratibha Ranta opened up about stepping into this sensitive territory and playing Meera. “Playing Meera meant living in that uncomfortable grey area where you know the truth but your heart isn’t ready to let go yet,” she says and adds, “She’s fragile, flawed, and so deeply human. I’m honestly just grateful that Netflix is a space where we can tell these kinds of layered, complicated stories where women don’t have to be perfect to be real.”

The actress had stated that Meera is going through a rollercoaster of emotions because her partner has been accused of sexual harassment – how does one process that? However, she adds that by the end of it, Meera has a full arc!

Recently, director Anubhuti Kashyap revealed the reason behind casting Pratibha as Meera. The director expressed admiration towards Pratibha’s work in Laapataa Ladies, and revealed they had her in mind. “Pratibha fit the part well, not just because of her performance but also with her energy and looks,” says Kashyap.

Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment Production, Accused is written by Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani. It releases on Netflix on February 27.