Kriti Sanon will be seen sharing screen space with Diljit Dosanjh in Arjun Patiala. (Photo: APH Images)Actor Kriti Sanon’s fifth year in the Hindi film industry has been special in more ways than one. While 2019 began with hit romantic comedy Luka Chuppi, the actor has three major releases lined up in the second half of the year. Kriti, however, says if there is something that she is excited about, it is the increase in number and quality of opportunities for female actors in Bollywood.
The actor, in a group interaction ahead of the release of spoof comedy Arjun Patiala, revealed that in the last two months she has been offered “some 10 films” with female protagonists. “Even if I am not able to do all of them, it is great that people are at least writing stuff like this. I am very happy that stories with female protagonists are being written a lot,” she said.
Kriti Sanon is set to headline director Rahul Dholakia as-yet-untitled thriller. The actor is, of course, excited about carrying a film on her shoulders for the first time and is also aware that the project brings along a lot of pressure.
Kriti said, “It is a mixed feeling. Obviously, you feel great that someone is wanting to put the responsibility of a whole film on your shoulders and trust you with it. It is a bit of a scary feeling also, where you are like okay, ‘It is only me. I can’t rely on anybody else or blame anybody else. It has to be only me.’ But I think it is also very exciting because you get to do a lot more as an actor. There is scope to perform. There are various directions that you can go in. So, I am pretty excited about it. ”
Every actor, who tastes back-to-back success, is often asked to deconstruct why probably his or her choices connect with the audience. Kriti believes one can only trust their own feeling about a script because it’s impossible to always correctly judge the audience’s taste.
“I am still not sure if what I am picking is right. Tomorrow, I may do a film which might not resonate with the audience in majority. So, going with your gut feeling is the only way. There’s no formula to a hit film. You can’t be certain that you should only do this kind of films.
“In retrospect, you can say, ‘Because this worked, I can do more of such work.’ But by the time you do that again, it might become outdated. With the digital medium becoming so strong, there is so much content available that it has become a little tricky. I think people might not like average anymore. So, you just have to go with your gut instinct and think, ‘This reads and sounds good to me as an audience so, let me do it’,” Kriti Sanon remarked.
It was her gut instinct that made her sign director Ashwiny Iyer’s successful romantic comedy Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), which became a turning point in her career.
“There were too many people, who told me, ‘I don’t know how you are going to look a Bareilly girl.’ People told Ashwiny, ‘Are you sure about the casting?’ So, now when the same people feel so convinced about the many small-town characters that I have played, it does feel great. When I heard the first 20 minutes of Bitti Mishra (her character) in Bareilly ki Barfi, I thought I had not done something like this and I wasn’t sure if something like this would come my way again. That’s what excites you,” Kriti said.
Kriti Sanon’s Arjun Patiala, which releases this Friday, also stars Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Sharma. The actor will also be seen in upcoming films Housefull 4 and Panipat this year.
