Kirti Kulhari, who started her career with a stunning performance in Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitaan, has taken her time to come into her own. Last year, she made the industry sit up and take notice with her intense act in Pink. Now, in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar, Kirti is simply outstanding. In this freewheeling interview the actress talks of what it is like to be an outsider and much more.
Q: Your performance in Indu Sarkar rates among the best I’ve seen recently. Tell me how you got here?
Kirti Kulhari: Indu Sarkar's most basic and important requisite was the stammer and for that I first started watching a lot of YouTube videos. The next step was to meet a psychologist and understand the mental make-up, emotional quotient and the general psychology of people who stammer.
Q: The preparation never overwhelmed the performance?
Kirti Kulhari: I had a couple of sessions with a speech therapist to create a specific structure of stammering, so that there’s consistency throughout the film. I, of course, went through my lines with her and kept rehearsing before the shoot, and during the shoot. I got a lot of inputs to create the character through these exercises and the general process that I follow as an actor was going on simultaneously. Indu Sarkar has been by far the most challenging for me to play and I’m really happy that people have appreciated it.
Q: The film is set during the Emergency in 1977. What kind of research did you put into your character?
Kirti Kulhari: I studied the time period of the Emergency. I read a book called Emergency Retold by Kuldeep Nayar and watched Doordarshan’s 5 part series called The Truth Of Emergency.
Q: Were you shocked by the excesses indulged in during the Emergency?
Kirti Kulhari: Yes, I was shocked at the kind of censorship that took place, the forced sterilisations, the imprisonments under MISA and many such horrifying things. Democracy seemed to have been replaced by dictatorship.
To live in such a state of affairs for 21 months, after being a free country for 28 years was unimaginable for me.Kirti Kulhari, Actor
Q: Do you think Pink was projected as a one-heroine film?
Kirti Kulhari: I was and am of a similar opinion as far as Pink is concerned. Why it was projected and by whom it was projected, I have no real answers to. I can only speculate. Also as an industry we are majorly stuck in viewing artistes as leads, second leads or character artistes. Not many of us have the maturity and the wisdom to see an actor as an actor, nothing less, nothing more. Not many take each other along and project it as a team. People generally look out only for themselves but never stop pretending that they care.
Q: Kangana Ranaut has spoken about nepotism in the industry. Being an outsider yourself do you agree?
Kirti Kulhari: Yes, I do agree with her on this subject. It is the truth and it can’t be denied. But this sad truth exists in every industry. I do understand it’s a natural instinct to help and support your own, but just because it’s the norm it doesn't mean it’s right. Anyone with talent deserves a chance, and shouldn't be deprived of opportunities because of anything, leave alone nepotism. People in a position to help and make a difference to the industry and the professionals in it should be forthcoming and not biased. It takes a lot of courage to overcome our biases and personal choices and offer opportunities to the truly deserving.
Q: Is being married a problem for your career in Bollywood?
Kirti Kulhari: It doesn't seem like a problem to me at all, but I’m sure there must be something to it, considering so many people, especially women postpone marrying. But it’s changing a lot and hopefully our audiences, as in the west, will also change their perception about actresses being married and view a talent as a talent, and not on the basis of their single or married status.
Q: How do you look at your journey so far?
Kirti Kulhari: The journey has been long, tough at times, very pleasant at times and like anyone else's, with its share of ups and downs, but satisfying. There’s no greater pleasure than pursuing what you love. There is undoubtedly a lot of artificiality and pretence in this industry. People tend to hide their real selves and become someone that another person and situation demands. It’s easy to lose yourself amidst so much glamour and showoff. But, thankfully, I have always been connected to my family, which is simple, grounded and real, and that’s one of my biggest blessings. So I have managed it pretty well so far.
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