Kareena Kapoor and Masaba Gupta team up for Marvel’s Wastelanders: Black Widow

Kareena Kapoor and Masaba Gupta’s latest project finds the two actors collaborating with one another for the upcoming Hindi Audible original podcast titled Marvel’s Wastelanders: Black Widow. Kareena steps into the shoes of the iconic superhero who moves into a new apartment owned and operated by S.H.I.E.L.D in midtown Manhattan. Giving her name as Helen Black, she has an agenda that she would like to keep hidden for now. Masaba is Lisa Cartwright, a Junior Residential Security Analyst for a private security company hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. who has to spy on the residents. As she looks into Helen, she finds that the woman is not at all who she says she is. (Also read: Jeremy Renner’s co-star Evangeline Lilly says actor’s recovery is a ‘miracle’: ‘He’s made of something really tough…’)

Marvel’s Wastelanders: Black Widow is set 30 years in a post-apocalyptic future where the superheroes have been defeated by the super villains. While the grim reality is accepted by most, a few surviving superheroes are trying to make a change, including Black Widow, in whatever way they can.

Speaking to artistic director Mantra Mugdh at a Mumbai event announcing the six-part podcast series, Kareena shared that it was an honour to be a part of the series.She said, “I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of it. This character actually, the more I read it, I said, ‘Okay, now I know why they want to play it.’ Because I resonated with it completely. I think Black Widow has always been fierce, powerful, intelligent… I wouldn’t say manipulative, but she kind of knows when she has to make her moves so somehow it’s something that I just… it was so fierce and it was like an instant connect. I hope through my voice, I can add my own touch to this wonderful character. Of course, being a part of it, with such amazing actors and voices also is going to be absolutely amazing. We’ve just started this journey and having my dear friend and gorgeous Masaba part of it is also a win-win situation for us.

Like Kareena, Masaba Gupta is also making her audio debut with the series. She shared that while it was a challenge, it was one the cast was willing to take. She stated, “I think [Lisa Cartwright] is just amazing because there is this quiet intelligence to her. She’s also someone who doesn’t take herself too seriously but she’s also extremely intuitive and smart. Everything that happens with her and Helen Black, that relationship is something that’s very exciting for me. But I won’t spill the beans. I’m very excited, to create a world just from your voice is special and a challenge. And of course, I’m a Kareena Kapoor Khan fan. I’m very happy it’s with her because I wouldn’t have asked for anyone better.”

Besides Kareena and Masaba, Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharad Kelkar, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Vrajesh Hirjee, Mithila Palkar, Sushant Digvikr, Prajakta Koli, Yashaswini Dayama, and Anangsha Biswas have also been announced as part of the cast of the podcast series, launching this June.