For nine years, Harshita Gaur has lived as Dimpy Pandit in the fictitious, blood-soaked gullies of Purvanchal, where the roar of gunshots and the sting of profanity were the norm. Now, she is trading the grit of Mirzapur for the tension of haunted hallways and the spine-chilling anticipation of the unknown in the upcoming supernatural series, Anarth, on Prime Video. The timing, she says, was perfect. “I have never done horror. Also, the show came to me at a time when I was looking for work.”

While jump scares and sudden camera pans keep one hooked, what resonated with Gaur was the “beautiful baseline about our day-to-day horrors”. “When I first heard the story, I thought it was insane. It has a great theme that will touch everyone’s hearts, as Ananya [Banerjee] has written and directed the show [with Gaurav Chawla]. They are also the ones who created Adhura [2023],” she explains, refusing to divulge further details on the Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiah, and Parambrata Chattopadhyay-starrer.

Parambrata Chattopadhyay in ‘Anarth’. Pic/Youtube

While she shared screen space with Chattopadhyay in Jehanabad — Of Love & War (2023), the horror series is her “first interaction with Gulshan and Kalki”. How different the genre was when compared to drama? “Horror, like comedy, needs to stay on the beat. So timing is extremely crucial; the jump scares have to be on point. Sometimes, the director would want just one look because it suits the rhythm of the show. And I think that was slightly different for me,” she says of the Nikkhil Advani production.

What is ‘Anarth’ all about?

The psychological horror drama revolves around a motherless child and a childless mother who must confront their deepest fears when a malevolent entity, Boba, threatens to silence them forever

Did you know?

Harshita Gaur is a trained Kathak dancer and has performed across India