Kriti Sanon on 2017: I think through Bareilly Ki Barfi and Raabta, I have grown as an actor

After the success of Bareilly Ki Barfi, Kriti Sanon firmly believes that content is the king.

2017 saw the rise of many films that did not boast of the so-called A-listers and were highly successful. These were the films that relied on their strong ensemble cast, their engaging stories and clicked with the audience. Kriti Sanon, who gained much appreciation for her role as Bitti in Bareilly Ki Barfi, did two films in 2017 that were diametrically different from each other. With Raabta, we saw her playing the conventional Bollywood heroine but her impression as Bitti is something that will last longer with the audience.

Indianexpress.com spoke to the star of Bareilly Ki Barfi where she discussed the year that had gone by. Kriti reflects back saying, “I always see it as a whole experience rather than just seeing the individual Fridays. I think both these films (Raabta and Bareilly Ki Barfi) have been very different from each other and I think through these films I have grown as an actor.”

On her character, Kriti believes that she got a lot of love and that was probably because the audience did not expect her to see in this avatar. She shares, “When the film and these characters got so much love, it sort of gave me a little more confidence to go with my gut feeling.”

With the rise of films set in smaller towns, is this a new genre that Bollywood has cracked? Kriti doesn’t believe so. In her opinion, story is the king. She opines, “I personally feel that if you tell a really good story in a very engaging manner, it works wherever it’s set. Even if it’s an urban story but it’s a really good story that engages the audience for those 3 hours, I think it will work.”

Every few years Bollywood believes they have cracked code that is working with the audience but such is not the case always. With the rise in rooted stories on the silver screen, Kriti believes that it’s probably the relatability factor that works with people, “Of course, the small-town films bring in a little bit of freshness with the dialects or the kind of realistic people. You feel like they are from your aas-pados.” She adds, “These films break the monotony and that sort of appeals to the audience. You make a small town film that doesn’t have a great story, I don’t think it will be appreciated.”

The story of the film draws the audience into the theater and Kriti put it very aptly in words, “At the end, it all boils down to how gripping your story is.”

Kriti Sanon can still be put under the bracket of newcomers in Hindi cinema since she is only four films old. Her filmography is yet to take a shape and she highly appreciates the direction that Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma took with their respective careers.

“Priyanka Chopra is someone who is not bound. She follows her heart and she’s done many varied films. Not caring whether it is supposedly the right thing to do or not. Even Anushka Sharma for that matter. She doesn’t come from a film background but always does what she totally believes in. Whether it was going into production and supporting stories and films that she wanted to. These are people who seem very secure and sure about what they are doing, which I really admire,” Kriti shares.

With Konkona Sen Sharma (A Death in the Gunj), Ashwini Iyer Tiwari (Bareilly Ki Barfi), Alankrita Shrivastava (Lipstick Under My Burkha) and many others, Hindi films are witnessing a rise in female voices on the director’s chair and Kriti shared her experience on the same. When asked if she believes that a female director’s vision is starkly different from a male director, Kriti said, “In a normal scenario we like to say that women are more emotional than men or women are more sensitive than men but honestly speaking, a director needs to understand the emotions, otherwise how do you direct? It’s just two individuals having two different visions. Even two men directing the same film will direct it differently. I don’t think there’s really any difference between a man directing or a woman directing.”

In her upcoming film Arjun Patiala, Kriti is all set to be working with Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh and she’s really looking forward to the same. She shares, “When the script of Arjun Patiala came my way, I was in splits. It’s a film that is really going to make people laugh. The Hindi film industry is yet to see the funny side of Diljit Dosanjh. I’m really excited to work with him.” The shoot for this film starts in February.

Bareilly Ki Barfi gave Kriti a chance to shine in a character that was written strongly and even though Raabta did not yield the results, 2017 was a year which made Kriti believe that she could follow her gut and still make the right decisions.

Here’s looking forward to the actor’s work in 2018.