Bengali actress Priyanka Sarkar is back on Hoichoi with Lojja 2, the sequel to Lojja directed by Aditi Roy. As the series started streaming on Hoichoi on April 11, IBNS correspondent Aaheli Chakraborty speaks to Priyanka on the sequel. Excerpts...

Q. How are you feeling about the second season of Lojja?

A. Jaya is my personally favourite character and the work done here is very important to me because I wanted this message to be conveyed to the audience. All of us have worked hard for this so I'm really excited and grateful.

Q. How did you and the team come up with the idea of making the second season of Lojja?

A. We have got an amazing response from the first season. A lot of people came forward and posted their own life stories related to the series. So all of this has been taken into consideration when the Hoichoi team thought of making the second season. And all the feedback we got was very important. Those were the responses we're hoping for.

Q. Tell us what stark contrast we can spot between the two seasons?

A. The verbal abuse shown in the first season has been again portrayed here but in a more intensified way. It has been shown how we easily judge or label someone without knowing the background or struggle of that person. There are a few new characters included in this season. The people who supported Jaya before would now back off, and few unexpected support also comes to her path. These things can be seen in this season.

Q. How has your character, Jaya, evolved from the last season?

A. The last season showed that Jaya was not happy even after having a beautiful family. In the second season, she finally identified why she wasn't happy and the first step she takes is getting help. She goes to a psychologist and also thinks of living alone.The mental issue, which is still a taboo in our society, has been addressed in this season, and eventually she has become more defensive and outspoken for her own good.

Q. Did you need to upskill or groom yourself for this character?

A. I didn't have to do anything for this character because unfortunately we all have personally gone through this same stuff some way or the other. We didn't have to do much beyond Samragnee's (Samragnee Bandyopadhyay) research work and writing. Following the script was itself the biggest task for this and of course a director like Aditi-di who works so carefully and portrayed the series.

Q. Do you find any similarity between Jaya and yourself?

A. Yes I do find similarities though might not be exactly the same. As I am an introvert, I had to learn to speak up for myself. Just like Jaya, I also have given my relationships a lot more importance and compromised a lot. But I could not retain myself for more than six months which she did.

Q. Is there any possibility of season 3?

A. Not yet. But it depends on the audience, just like season two is made on audiences' demand. So let's see.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)