After spending almost a decade in the TV industry and emerging as one of the top actresses on the small screen, Kritika Kamra is finally ready to make her feature film debut. Though the actress got very close to doing a couple of films in the past, it is ‘Mitron’ that will turn out to be her first big screen outing. In an exclusive interview, she talks about the film and her journey as an actress so far.
When I watched the trailer of ‘Mitron’, I thought that the film depicts the ambition of today’s youth in the country. Would you agree to that?
I think you summed it up beautifully. I wish you had met me earlier and told me this. I would have said the same in the other interviews also (laughs). The film is about today’s youth’s aspirations and also explores their relationship with the previous generation. We are a diverse country. A large chunk of the population lives in small towns. In the film, my character also hails from a small-town. The film is about a bunch of young people from small town who have big dreams and how they go about achieving them.
As we saw in the trailer, Avni, the character you play, is trying to set up a business.
Yes, I am doing along with the three boys played by Jackky, Pratik and Shivam Parekh. Avni is a very level-headed girl and is sure about what she wants in life. It was great to play a young and independent woman who is independent and does not need any financial support from a man. She chooses to be with a particular person because she likes him. In television one does not really get to play these kinds of roles, so it was refreshing to portray a character like Avni.
You have been working in television for almost a decade now but there have been a couple of film announcements in the past. You were supposed to be a part of ‘Badtameez Dil’, a film that was to star Emraan Hashmi and Kareena Kapoor Khan. You had also signed a film that was supposed to be directed by Abhinay Deo. Both these films did not take off. What made you say yes to ‘Mitron’?
I have been very close to doing some other film in the past as well. I have had a lot of anger about things not falling into place and those projects not taking off. But, I feel very happy that ‘Mitron’ tuned out to be my first film as it is exactly the kind of film I would have liked myself to be associated with. I also had a great time playing Avni. I guess ‘Mitron’ was destined to be my first film, which is why the other films did not happen.
‘Mitron’ is the official remake of the Telugu hit ‘Pelli Choopulu’. Have you seen the original film?
I did not see ‘Pelli Choopulu’ before I shot for ‘Mitron’. Later, I watched it out of curiosity and loved it. What I liked the most about the film was its honesty. We have also tried to portray the story in an honest manner. Every member of our team has given their best. When you watch the film, you will realise everything in it looks very real and relatable.
Would you like to get back to television sometime?
If a good offer comes along, why not? I do not differentiate between mediums. I have never been concerned about the kind of platform I am getting to showcase my work on. Right now, the gap is very less anyways. You see so many film actors on the web and so many TV actors moving to films. I want to up my game and keep doing things that help me grow as an actor.
You have been very selective about your work on television. You have never done a typical saas-bahu show or something that has gone on for years.
You are right. I have been around for a decade and have done a lot of work but I have never done a show for seven-eight years. Television has given me a lot of love but sometime back, I started getting this feeling that I have explored almost everything on TV. I have done a love story like ‘Kitani Mohabbat Hai’, a drama like ‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’, a finite show like ‘Reporters’, and a fantasy like ‘Chandrakanta’. I have even hosted a show like ‘MTV Webbed’. I think it was the right time for me to branch out as an actor and do films.
You have also ventured into the digital platform. ‘Best Girlfriend’ came a while before there was a lot of people started making short films. It was also the highest viewed Indian short film for a very long time.
Yes, we made ‘Best Girlfriend’ much before the digital revolution happened and making short films became a trend. It was just a personal exercise for a friend. It was like a fun project, like how you do it in school. Back then, we were quite surprised by the kind of response we got. I did two more short films after that.
Would you like to do a web-series?
Definitely! I think it is a very interesting space and I would love to explore it. There is a lot of good content on the web. I have got a couple of offers but I do not want to do something for the heck of it. I would rather wait something meaty to come my way.
What is the difference between working in television and films?
As an actor, my approach towards every project remains the same but of course, television and cinema are two different mediums. The number of scenes we shoot for a TV show is three times the number of scenes we do in films in a day. I gave a year of my life to ‘Mitron’. I shot for the film for forty-five days but I was closely involved in the pre-production and the post-production of the film as well. As a workaholic television actor who is used to shoot every day, such a long wait can be daunting but I completely loved the experience. There is lot of attention to detail in films which television badly needs. The writing in cinema is getting better. TV has given me a lot of love. That is where I come from but I do not shy away from saying that cinema is more progressive than television.
What are you doing next?
I am in talks for a couple of projects but there is nothing that I am going to start shooting for immediately. In fact, I am very happy about it as I want to promote ‘Mitron’ well. I want to see how people are reacting to the film.