Kriti Sanon: My character in Shehzada is ‘closest to me’

With a few notable releases in the past couple of years - like Mimi, Heropanti 2 and Bhediya - a Filmfare Award, and a few important movies lined up for the near future - including Adipurush and Ganapath - one can definitely say that Kriti Sanon is at the prime of her career. With Shehzada releasing in theatres this Friday (February 17), in which she is starring opposite Kartik Aaryan, Kriti says that as an actor, she wants to do it all without limiting herself to one genre.

Speaking in an interview with PTI while promoting her upcoming release, the actress said, “An actor should always have a mixed bag of films. I don’t want to limit myself to only doing films that are on my shoulders or choose films, because it has got a strong part. I don’t want to be in a box and just flow. I want to cater to all kinds of audiences. I am an audience myself, who likes watching different films. Hence, I don’t want to keep repeating myself, I want to mould myself in different worlds.” In Shehzada, Kriti will be seen as a lawyer named Samara, whom she describes as a strong-headed, independent woman.

“This is closest to me as a character. I didn’t need to step into another person. This was more of a fun flowing, easy to do sort of a role. I haven’t had that glam avatar for a while as I have been doing small-town roles. It is nice and refreshing to break,” she elaborated.

Meanwhile in Adipurush, she plays Janaki, a character which is said to be loosely based on Sita from the Ramayana. In Ganapath again, she will be seen doing stunts. “In Adipurush, I have a strong character and at the same time it is a period, historical film. Ganapath is dirty, messy, and it has a Mad Max vibe to it. There is a lot of action, something that I haven’t done before at all. Each of her roles in these three movies have been demanding in their own way,” she added.

Citing the example of her 2021 critically acclaimed film Mimi, in which she was seen alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Kriti said it is not necessary that only the hard-hitting or serious roles pose a challenge. “Adipurush was very challenging, because of the weight of the character. There is a lot more internal prep, like how I am going to speak, the body language has to not look contemporary, etc. So, I had to keep a check on those things. Again, Ganapath is challenging in a different way, because I don’t know the skills. I don’t know how to ride a bike and how to do action. So, the idea is to learn all of it and be able to portray it with confidence and look like a pro,” the actress further said.

Cut to Shehzada, Kriti said that the film is a complete package of emotion, romance, and action. It’s the Hindi remake of the 2020 Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, which starred Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde. The Hindi version is helmed by Rohit Dhawan. This film marks Kriti’s second collaboration with Kartik. In 2019, they were seen together in Luka Chuppi.

Speaking about her chemistry with the actor, she said, “I feel there is great chemistry, because of us knowing each other. We have done work before, so that happens instantly on screen. When I heard this film, I felt it was an entertaining film. It has got everything in it which the family audience will enjoy, it is a film for all age groups,” Kriti sums up. Shehzada also features Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Ronit Roy and Sunny Hinduja.