Gauhar Khan: I was in tears when I wore the uniform of a police officer, remembering my late father

Actress Gauhar Khan played a police officer and wore the uniform for the first time in the latest released web series Shiksha Mandal. In conversation with OTTplay, the actress shares how the show made her emotional, recalling her late father.

Gauhar told OTTplay, " I was very emotional when the first trailer of Shiksha Mandal was released because my dad would have loved to see me in uniform. My father always wanted me to wear wardi and ride horses. He would say, 'Gau, you should play a cop on-screen, you will be fabulous in that.' I used to miss my father terribly when I was shooting for the show. I lost papa a few months before our shooting started."

She went on, adding, " My father used to own horses and he was very passionate about horses, riding them, galloping etc. He always wanted me to ride one. I remember for the first time when I rode the horse, as part of the preparation, I was in tears! I hope papa is watching me from the sky and feeling proud of me. I was emotional and excited at the same time when I was sprinting, galloping and riding horses."

The show revolves around an education scam where many aspirants for the medical entrance exams get trapped in a system. This is followed by the mysterious death of a few students which unveils a bigger nexus who are involved in the crime.

Gulshan Devaiah also stars in the series, playing Aditya Rai, a man running a coaching center for medical aspirants. Gauhar plays the police officer who gets to the bottom of the scam and Pavan Malhotra essays the character Dhansu Yadav who is the mastermind behind the scam.

As she is playing an investigating officer, when asked if through the making of the show she came across any existing gender politics happening with any female cop, Gauhar spoke of how the character in the show is actually very empowering.

Gauhar said, "I think my character Anuradha is very strong, empowered and entrusted in the police station. Our director and writer Afzal sir has created Anuradha as one of the strong police officers. That way, she does not face any gender politics in the office. But there is another side to her character where she deals with some of the vulnerable moments in her personal life."

"Even though she had a wonderful relationship with her husband, there are questions that arise on why she has to compromise, being a working woman? I think, such moments make the character relatable, and humane at the same time," she further added.

Written and directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, Shiksha Mandal, also featuring - Gauri Chakraborty, Maya Sahu, Puneet Kumar Mishra, and Iram Badar Khan, is streaming on MX Player.