Actress Kritika Kamra tells Ayushi Sharma about how she transitioned from TV to making her Bollywood debut in Nitin Kakkar's Mitron
They say the best things happen to you when you are not looking. That certainly holds true for television actor Kritika Kamra. Her debut film Mitron happened when she was not actively chasing a role. “I have been auditioning for films for a very long time as it’s a natural step to diversify from television. But for a long time things were not falling into place, sometimes the film didn’t take off and at other times I got roles that I was not convinced about. So it was difficult to strike the perfect balance. I didn’t want to do films just for the heck of it or to be known as one-film wonder. I don’t want to be a washout, so I was extra careful before choosing my first film and this one happened by chance.”
As the name suggests, the film directed by Nitin Kakkar celebrates friendship and love. But many would say that in contemporary times the title takes us back to all the speeches of our PM. Kritika says, “People say love is the basis for everything but I think friendship is the secret to any long running relationship. This is what the audience should expect from this film. It is a quirky name and we are very much aware of the fact that our PM also uses it. Also, the film is set in Gujarat, the state where he comes from. But that is the only common ground. Mitron is otherwise a universal word for friends.”
Since Kritika has been a part of TV shows like Kitani Mohabbat Hai, Reporters, Kuch Toh Log Kahenge, one wonders what has her journey of transition from the small to the big screen been like? What are the commonalities and the differences between the two that she spotted while shooting for her first film? She answers, “Films need a lot of detailing as compared to television. Serials involve a huge volume of work in a day but it is a good learning ground. It has taught me a lot of things but I felt that if you do something for a long time, a point comes when you burn out. After acting for so many years in television, you tend to get a bit mechanical.” By this term she implies, “You start using your head instead of your heart. A real performance is when you feel it and then act. I feel that acting is also about reacting or at least making it look like you are not acting. If you start playing a sport and practising it everyday, you will eventually get better at it after a while but at the same time, it will also feel very mechanical.”
Kritika was, therefore, taken in when Mitron opened a door of new opportunities for her. “I had never experienced this style of working yet. The director never limited me from doing something or forced his own opinions on me. It was very real, natural and conversational.”
Kritika has played a variety of characters during her stint on TV, being, in her words, “shamelessly selective.” If you ask about her take on how tough or easy being a journalist is as she has been a part of a show named Reporters, she says, “I tried to choose roles that were a little away from the mainstream and Reporters was one of those niche shows with a niche audience. I started respecting journalists as I understood how difficult and competitive this profession is. Additionally, you have to be really passionate about it and have a great presence of mind. I really enjoyed playing a journalist and I hope that I get more chances to play characters that have a professional life. I want to explore that side of a woman because in today’s world there’s more to just being achi beti (a good daughter) or a perfect bahu (daughter in law). There’s more to women today.”
So what genre of films is she comfortable in, real world or biopics? Pat comes the reply, “It’s all fiction. Even biopics are all dramatised and adapted. This holds true for our film too which is based on this real couple whom we met. I’m happy to bid goodbye to the loud over-the-top kind of cinema because I enjoy subtle realism more. All stories need to be adapted beautifully as at the end of the day, any film is meant for entertainment only.”