COP IN CONTROL
Lovely actress Kritika Kamra might call herself a jaali Punjaban for she is not very fluent in Punjabi. She might profess to be an agonistic, who does not even believe in astrology and other superstitions or even the magic of numbers like 11.11. Yet, currently seen in the series Gyaarah Gyaarah, she would certainly like one wish of hers to be granted and that is to play a character out of Amrita Pritam’s literary world.
When someone compliments your work on the roadside or random strangers write beautiful notes or you get to skip a queue or two….life is wonderful. Those who say or feel otherwise are lying.
Transitioning from one kind of part to another is the beauty of acting and she consciously chooses roles that are not only different from each other, but also her own affable persona. “I don’t care to repeat myself,” she quips. Of course, conducive environment provided by directors like Umesh Bist, help the actor in her immerse in a new role with fluidity and ease. Between the production house, director, actor and her role, what matters the most to her is the director. She reasons, “Though I would like to tick more than one box on my choice-meter, ultimately it’s the director’s vision that prevails.” Gyaarah Gyaarah may have received a mixed response from critics, but she is not unduly perturbed. “Art is subjective and so is criticism,” she vouches for the series, and had said yes to it for she trusted the makers’ vision.
If thanks to the television show Kuch Toh Log Kahenge she became Dr Nidhi in popular imagination, on OTT people do remember her as Habiba of Bambai Meri Jaan and many continue to address her as Habiba Aapa. Of course, for her there is no one particular breakout role and she sums up her journey on OTT as ‘slow and steady’. Growing from strength to strength, in the near future two of her projects will see her rubbing shoulders with actors of huge mettle. Pratik Gandhi, whom she has known pre-Scam, and Vijay Varma, whose incredible work has impressed her beyond measure, star in her forthcoming series For Your Eyes Only and Matka King, respectively. Co-actors are a huge part and significant others of her learning curve. “Acting is give and take. And I learnt it all on the job and from people around me. I am fortunate that I get to play off their energies,” she avers.
Enjoying the spotlight for years, she can see no flipside of being famous. She quips, “When someone compliments your work on the roadside or random strangers write beautiful notes or you get to skip a queue or two….life is wonderful. Those who say or feel otherwise are lying.” As for good looks, which she is naturally blessed with, again she can only see the upside. She says, “Not only in the film industry but also in all walks of life, from dating to social media likes, looks are given a lot of, may be undue too, importance.” Any wonder one of her deep desires is to deck up in lustrous finery, may be learn a dance form or two, and become a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s opulent world.
But the actress who once ruled the small screen is unlikely to go back to television. She doesn’t negate its relevance, power or reach, for who better than this small-town girl to understand how many still root for it and are rooted to television screens even today. For her, however, OTT is where she gets to do edgy stuff.
Best phase of her life or not… she is ‘an all-in or nothing’ person. Even as her shows go back and forth in time, For Your Eyes Only too is set in the 1970s, she takes a leap forward. She may not have found overnight stardom on OTT, but one day all her cumulative choices will certainly pay off in a big way. 11.11… more than making a wish, she echoes the thoughts of Jim Rohn, ‘Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better,’ and strives to become the best version of herself.
