Mumbai, Sep 14 (IANS): Actor Gautam Rode shares screen space with Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat for the first time in the upcoming web series titled 'Nakaab'. The actor says initially he was surprised how Mallika reacted on their first meeting.

In the show, Gautam plays an investigating officer 'Pawan Bisht' who along with his colleague 'Aditi Amre' goes to the set of a shooting site where an actress dies. Mallika plays the character of the show producer named 'Zohra Mehra'.

Recalling their first meeting, Gautam told IANS: "I met Mallika the first time on the set of 'Nakaab' and since we were shooting at the beginning of the year and the pandemic was still very much there, there was a distance maintained. But when I saw Mallika at first, she didn't even talk to me properly and directly geared up for our first shot. The scene was such in which I as the police officer called her for interrogation and both the characters had a sense of tension."

Gautam continued, "The shot gets over and then Mallika comes to me, hugs me, and says, 'sorry, I was just maintaining the mood of the character. I was just doing method a bit because between Pawan and Zohra have 'Chhatiss ka Akhda'. Then both of us started laughing! This meeting I will remember forever."

The show is directed by Soumik Sen and is majorly shot in Kolkata.

The story revolves around a mysterious death of an actress 'Vibha' and how 'Pawan' and 'Aditi' discover the real reason behind the death.

Sharing more insight, Gautam said, "Never have I ever played such a layered character, at least not the kind of work that I have done so far. He is an investigating officer who is doing everything in his power to find out the real reason behind the death of the actress. In the process of doing it, he is pressured by the bureaucrats, eyewitnesses, influential people from the entertainment industry and how he navigates his way and eventually, where he reaches. It is a very well-written multi-layered character and I am looking forward to the release."

'Nakaab' releases on September 15 on MX Player.