‘NOW, I AM MORE SURE ABOUT MYSELF’
Kriti Sanon feels when an actor doesn’t belong to a film family, they “don’t get too many chances”
Three years back, she started her filmi career with Heropanti. After that, Kriti Sanon has appeared in only three Hindi films – Dilwale (2015), Raabta and now Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB). But now, the Delhi girl seems ready to take off in her Bollywood career after her critically acclaimed outing in BKB. “I am slowly figuring out myself as an actor,” says Kriti, as she talks about life, career and more.
What’s your current state of mind? How different is the feeling from when you made your debut?
Now, I am more sure about myself as an actor. Also, when I made my debut, it was like I was taking baby steps. I didn’t know anything – be it standing on the mark or facing the camera. So that way, I’ve figured out certain things about my process as an actor. For instance, like many other actors, I know that I can’t go back to my ‘emotional memory’ and use it during my emotional scenes. It doesn’t work for me as I am more of a switch-on, switch-off kind of an actor. I am slowly figuring out these things about myself and so I can say that I am a little more confident now.
But you must be really kicked about BKB doing well commercially and getting you critical acclaim too…
I feel very happy, especially with the fact that this is one film of mine that has got the most positive feedback from everyone – the industry, people in general, my family, friends and close as well as distant relatives (laughs). I think ever since the trailer was launched, there was a sense of positivity around the film, which we could feel and had hoped would translate [into people watching the film]. For me, it’s a very different kind of a film. Initially, there were a few question marks. But to be convincing in a genre and a world that I never stepped in before, has been the most important thing for me.
Your last film (Raabta) didn’t do well. You also don’t have a new film in hand. So, how critical was BKB’s success for you?
Regardless of the number of films in your kitty, the pressure is always there. It was there during Raabta too. But the pressures can be new every time. In BKB, the pressure or the challenge for me was to get into a new world, especially since audiences also take a little time to accept and adjust themselves to see an actor in a new environment. Then, of course, considering films were not doing well [at the box office], there was surely some pressure of this film having to do well.
Does it put lots of pressure on an actor when back-to-back films — Raabta and Dilwale in your case — don’t get the desired results?
I feel if you don’t come from a film family, you don’t get too many chances. Since you don’t have backing, industry people don’t know you, so only if your films work will they get to see your potential. I wanted BKB to work also because the film is more about performance than just looking good. In today’s world, there are so many goodlooking faces that people need actors who can perform. If a director writes a role, I want him to think of me who can fit that part. In that sense, it was very important.
Since you hail from Delhi, how difficult was it to get into the skin of a small-town girl in Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB)?
I don’t know if this happens with everyone but I think for every character, you start prepping way before in your mind and start figuring out certain characteristics. The first day [in front of the camera] is when you really figure out how things will be. For me, it was very important to get the dialect right and since she is tomboyish, I worked on the body language as well. Also, I come from a simple middle class family so I am not posh, and that’s why I could relate to the simplicity of the character and her thinking too, which, I guess, made things easier.
Personally, how much did you relate to the character of Bitti?
When you watch the film, you realise that she is actually a very mature person and not stuck with the typical small-town thinking. I think that’s what I related with. Like Bitti, I also don’t follow norms about what girls are supposed to do and what boys should do. I have always questioned that maybe because of the way I have been brought up.
Do you feel that after BKB, the industry will look at you in a completely different light?
I feel a lot of people have not seen my films. But there is a good buzz about Bareilly Ki Barfi and performances in the film. It has also done well at the box office. For the first time, I am getting a lot of messages and calls from people from the industry about my performance so I hope that the way they look at me in terms of an actor, changes a little now. Also, hopefully, the barrier of just being a ‘glamorous heroine’ breaks down. I really hope things change, otherwise I don’t know what else I need to do (laughs).
You have done only four films in your three-year-long career. So, are you being picky or have been waiting for good scripts?
I am waiting for good scripts. Though I have been reading a lot of scripts but something or the other is missing. In today’s times, you have to fall for the script. Sometimes, you fall for other things or do a film since it’s happening at the perfect time. But I don’t think that works because perception-wise, you are as good as your last film. Now that BKB has done well, and I have time, it doesn’t mean I will do a film in a hurry. Also, going by past experiences, I feel films choose you. So, I am hoping that everything will happen for good.
At this stage, how much does success and failure affect you?
When my film is releasing, I am surely scared and anxious. So, I am online Thursday onwards and I read every review (smiles). Everything good or bad written about me affects me but it doesn’t sustain for too long. As actors, you have to move on and can’t get stuck with one film. Yes, you need to be critical to know what hasn’t worked and be honest about it but you can’t be affected for too long.
Have you gotten used to the ways of the industry?
Little bit, I guess. Now, I am a little more comfortable at film parties than I used to be earlier, though I still don’t feel at home at those bashes. I think it’s also about the number of people you know. Work-wise, depending on a film’s success, people’s reactions can change. Also, you can’t predict anything in this industry. You’ve to say yes or no before agreeing to do a film as that’s more important than one Friday.
Have you, as they say, ‘developed a Teflon coating’ by now vis-à-vis the industry?
I don’t know, maybe not yet. My mother always says that I am not thick-skinned enough for the industry (smiles). I think I am more of a sentimental person than an emotional one. An emotional person gets attached to things deeply. If I am feeling low, I can sleep over it, and I will be fine. So, I get affected very easily but I also get over it as easily.
Personally, is BKB going to alter the way you go about your career and choices?
After Bareilly Ki Barfi, I am a bit more confident about experimenting, going out of my comfort zone, following my instincts and going ahead with a ‘good script’, and not think of anything else. When I signed BKB, neither Nil Battey Sannata (2015; director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s first film), nor Dangal (2016; writer-director Nitesh Tiwari’s last film) had released, so it was just a film that I purely loved. I think when you follow your instinct, most of the time you would be right.