Emmy winning actress Archie Panjabi said that her new Hulu true crime drama “Under The Bridge” made her feel like she’s been “punched in the stomach.”
“Because I’d never heard of this terrible tragedy,” Panjabi, 51, told The Post, referring to the real-life murder that the show is based on.
“I was really shocked. And of course, being from the same cultural background as that family, I felt it was an important story that I wanted to be part of. The character was completely out of my comfort zone…but, I was excited to sink my teeth into something that I’ve never done before.”
She added, “Why did a group of teenagers do what they did to that poor young girl? That’s a question of the whole show. It’s certainly something I felt, why did nobody speak up? I think that’s something that will hopefully get people talking and start a conversation about things like bullying and harassment.”
Now streaming (with new episodes out Wednesdays), “Under The Bridge” stars Panjabi, Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone. The series is based on the true story of the murder of Reena Virk (played by Vritika Gupta), a 14 year old girl who was killed by a group of fellow teenagers – her supposed friends – in 1997 British Columbia.
Keough plays Rebecca Godfrey (who wrote the book that the show is based on), Gladstone plays local cop Cam Bentland, and Panjabi plays Suman Virk, Reena’s mother.
“A mother whose child is bullied, and then so brutally murdered – where do you even begin to access that level of grief?” said Panjabi.
“I pulled together a lot of information online, watched a lot of videos, read the book, and tried to infuse some personal cultural background into the character. Every character is always an adventure. But, I have rarely played mothers, as well. So, that was new territory onscreen.”
Panjabi is best known for starring as Kalinda Sharma in “The Good Wife” (for which she won her Emmy), as well as “Blindspot,” “I Know This Much is True,” “Snowpiercer” and “Departure.”
About working with Keough and Gladstone – who were each respectively nominated for an Emmy and Oscar this year – Panjabi said: “You didn’t feel like you were working with two women whose careers are on the rise. They’re very grounded. It was a real joy working with both of them, and with all the kids as well, who were absolutely phenomenal.”
Panjabi also recently co-starred in the AppleTV+ hit “Hijack,” starring Idris Elba, which has been renewed for a Season 2.
“I haven’t had anything, but you never know,” she said, about the possibility of reprising her role in more episodes.
“I had a great time. Idris Elba is someone I have always wanted to work with, so I can take that off my list….I met him a few years ago. I was always very grateful to him because when he met me, he said, ‘Archie, you need to go into producing.’ And I did do that – subsequently, with [‘Departure’] that I worked on with the wonderful Christopher Plummer.”
She added that Elba is, “Great fun, he’s very charismatic, but he’s funny as well, which is a great asset to have when you spend so many hours on a show with another actor.”