Newcomer Kriti Sanon talks about her character in Heropanti and why there are more women entering the industry than men.
On her films:
“I had started with the Telugu film 1: Nenokkadine when I signed Heropanti. Both films are completely different. That was an action thriller, this is a romantic drama. There I play an urban journalist. In Heropanti, it’s Dimpy who comes from a small town in Haryana. She’s bratty and smart, and manipulative in her own way. She has lots of ambition but limited scope because she belongs to a conservative Jat [rural community] family where women are married off early and stay at home. Each day she tries to break through and live her dreams in her own clever way. Yet there’s a lot of innocence in the character, especially when she’s in front of her father, and in a lot of things she doesn’t know about life, she doesn’t question. So this combination of brattiness and innocence is something that I found very endearing”.
From engineering to acting:
“When I was in my second year of engineering I started modelling as a hobby. I did a few ads and while shooting for them I enjoyed being in front of the camera. But acting was not something I had done, though I always enjoyed dancing, and my choreographers would tell me that I was very expressive and should explore acting too. By the time I finished college I’d started thinking of acting because when you like something and take it up as a profession you do it better. I had two job offers in hand but convinced my parents I wanted to come to Mumbai and become an actress. They were very supportive”.
Fewer male newcomers:
“Yes there are more male dominant films, or a balance of the characters. So in that case the responsibility of the film is usually on the shoulders of the guy. In that scenario it becomes a little difficult for the director or producer to think of putting a new boy in that place with such a responsibility. That’s why I feel there’s still kind of lesser opportunities for men in the industry. You do see very often a new girl being cast opposite a veteran male actor and if you count the number of new girls who’ve come from outside the industry, they will always be more than the guys. But there’s always a Ranveer Singh or Sushant Singh coming from outside. I think Kai Po Che is a great example where we’ve had all three newcomers from outside the industry”.
And, of course, Heropanti takes the cake with 21 newcomers.
“Yes! And I think there should be more films like Heropanti made”
