Kriti Sanon Exclusive Interview: “I Like People Around Me Who Have A Good Sense Of Humour”

Fresh off the huge success of her last release Luka Chuppi (2019), gorgeous actress Kriti Sanon is presently busy promoting her next movie Arjun Patiala. Produced by Maddock Films, Arjun Patiala is a spoof comedy wherein the actress plays a Punjab-based crime journalist.

Besides Kriti Sanon, the comic-caper also features Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Sharma in pivotal roles.

Ahead of the release of Arjun Patiala, STARBIZ correspondent Mohnish Singh sits down with Kriti Sanon for a free-wheeling chat at an upmarket Mumbai hotel frequented by movie stars on a regular basis.

In this interview with us, Kriti Sanon talks in detail about a lot of things, from her character in Arjun Patiala to playing a small-town girl in quick succession. She also lets on about her favourite comedy shows during her childhood and also her favourite actors who are good at comedy. Excerpts...

In your last film Luka Chuppi, you played an intern working for a local news channel. Here in Arjun Patiala, you have been promoted to the position of a crime reporter. How happy are you playing a crime reporter in the movie?

I am very, very happy. I don’t think that somebody else would have been promoted so early ever in their job (laughs). So, I am very happy. Here, it’s a serious job. Ritu Randhawa as a character is very passionate about her job. She is a reporter in Firozpur, Punjab. The film, as well as her character, has a Punjabi flavour. I think that most of the Punjabi girls are very happy-go-lucky. But if you tease them, they will slap you. So, Ritu is someone who is very serious about her work and, also, I, as an actress, tried getting both the sides of a journalist – the one which is on the camera and the one which is off the camera. So, I also went through a lot of bloopers that you will see online, which is like before action and after cut.

What was it like playing a journalist?

It felt great. See, it’s a comedy film so, to be honest, it was not like very serious journalism and all of that. But the character is someone who is very, very serious about her profession. She is someone who does not like violence in general and believes that things should be sorted without violence. She has her own ideologies and morals and calls a spade a spade. It was a change to sort of hold the mic and give that piece to the camera.

Do you think that the huge success of your last film Luka Chuppi is going to benefit Arjun Patiala?

I don’t think that the success of your last film decides the fate of your next film. Having said that, Luka Chuppi working and reaching out to so many people and doing the numbers that it did at the box-office was amazing. It was a romantic comedy and had the elements of small-town flavour, which has already been liked. So, I am assuming that probably somewhere people who have appreciated that film and my performance in it might relate to my character in Arjun Patiala also.

After Bareilly Ki Barfi and Luka Chuppi, you are playing a small-town girl again. Can we say that you like such characters a lot?

I think I like stories which connect and have something different about them. That is my only basis of choosing a movie. If the same story was set in an urban scenario, I would have still done it. So, ultimately, it all depends on what the story is all about.

However, I do feel that small-town characters do have some sort of relatability. They connect well with the audience. There is something about them that makes you feel this character might be living next door, or his mom talks like my mom or this girl talk like me. So, I think, there is a relatability factor which is there in all small-town stories and characters, which might also be the reason why they connect so well with the audience.

How similar is your character to yourself?

Apart from the fact that she says what she feels, it’s not very similar. She can slap anybody, I cannot do that. I can just say that I will slap you. She is a journalist, so her ideologies are very, very different. Her thinking is very different. She has had a very different upbringing also. Ritu is quite away from me, apart from just being a North Indian. I like the Punjabi flavour she speaks in.

You are playing a journalist in Rahul Dholakia’s next as well.

Yes, but that character is a lot different from this one. It has nothing to do with that character of mine. That film is in a thriller space. It’s very away from these two characters - Rashmi and Ritu.

Is comedy a challenging genre for you as an actress?

I think it’s indeed difficult to make people laugh. There are some people who have a natural flair for comedy in general. Like Diljit Dosanjh has it in him already. He is naturally very, very funny. I don’t think he realizes that he is very funny. Otherwise, I feel comedy is a tough genre. It is difficult to make people laugh. You need to have the right timing and the right rhythm for comedy. It’s a lot about the reaction, and it’s also about reactions at the right time. So, yeah, I feel it’s tough to make people laugh, but I also feel that in today’s time comedy is very, very important.

Your co-actors Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Sharma are naturally very funny. Was it difficult for you to match up with them?

No, not really. I think I like comedy. I do like people around me who have a good sense of humour. I tend to, you know, unknowingly pick it from people. I like thinking in a comical way sometimes. I like creating reactions. So, I think, I have that love for comedy. When you have an actor who has great comic timing, it just also eases you out. Your comic timing also becomes better. I was actually very glad that these two people have a natural flair for comedy.

Diljit seems to be quite an introvert while speaking to the media. How is he on set?

He is introvert in general. He talks less. That’s his personality. But he is also someone who becomes a completely different person as soon as the camera switches on. He might be doing the loudest scene possible and you will be like, “What has just happened?” because he is not like that in real life. So, he has that thing about him. But I also think that he is the kind of introvert who, maybe with his own set of people and his close friends, will be a lot more expressive. I can imagine him being loud there. But he is not loud with everybody.

This is your third film with Dinesh Vijan. Do you think he is one producer who knows it best that how to tap your talent?

Yes, this is my third film with him, though it feels like we have done many. He is definitely someone who understands my zone well. He also understands the kind of actor that I am. He has directed me in Raabta (2017), so he definitely knows me in and out. He knows my strength. He knows my weaknesses. I think more than that, with him, it is about being comfortable. Having the relationship that we have, he is like my elder brother. He is like family. He is someone who I would go to for any help or advice. At the same time, I also admire his vision. Somewhere I feel like I am in sync with the kind of films he likes and the kind of films that he produces. The kind of work that he does, there is always something different, something quirky and something new to offer in every film that he is backing. That I feel is a great thing.

This year you have four releases. How excited are you?

It’s a great number to compete with again in the next year. But I am glad that it’s happening. I also had a year where I did not have any releases. So, it sort of compensates for that. I like the fact that all these films are very different from one another. The characters that I am playing are very away from one other, which is very exciting as an actor for me. I would want to see the audience react to them.

Do you think that the audience’s perception of live-in relationships has changed after Luka Chuppi?

I don’t know. We were not even trying to change any perception of live-in relationships. I think we were just trying to say that live and let live. That was the idea. When two people want to be with each other, the only ones deciding about their lives should be just them, not so many people around them and so many norms.

I think, at times, we mount a lot of pressure on ourselves and complicate our lives because of social norms and society. Life can be much simpler. Luka Chuppi tried to tell that.

Which has been your most favourite comedy shows during your childhood?

There were so many shows at that time. Hum Paanch was there. There was Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Dekh Bhai Dekh and Shararat were also my favourites.

Who is your favourite actor when it comes to comedy?

There are a lot of them. Govinda is probably one of the best. Mehmood Saab was amazing. Johnny Lever sir is superb. He is also there in Housefull 4. I have already worked with him once in Dilwale (2015). He is fabulous. Akshay is amazing at comedy. There are too many. Sanjay Mishra sir is superb at comedy and so is Pankaj Tripathi sir. Even Seema Pahwa ma’am is awesome at it. She is there in Arjun Patiala also, playing a comical villain. She has a natural flair for comedy.