An actor should always have mixed bag of films: Kriti Sanon

MUMBAI: Playing a diva, a woman who has a mind of her own or performing ''messy'' action sequences, Kriti Sanon says as an actor she wants to do it all without limiting herself to one genre.

The actor, best known for her work in films such as ''Bareilly Ki Barfi'' and ''Mimi'', is thrilled about her diverse slate of film releases this year. In 2023, she will be seen in the masala entertainer “Shehzada”, the mythological epic “Adipurush”, and the action thriller “Ganapath”. All these three films are different from each other, said Sanon, adding she is looking forward to seeing the audience's reaction to the releases. ''An actor should always have a mixed bag of films. I don’t want to limit myself to only doing films which are on my shoulders or choose films because it has got a strong part. I don’t want to be in a box and just flow.

''I want to cater to all kinds of audiences. I am an audience myself, who likes watching different films. Hence, I don’t want to keep repeating myself, I want to mould myself in different worlds,'' the 32-year-old actor told PTI in an interview here.

In “Shehzada”, Sanon plays a lawyer named Samara, whom she describes as a strong-headed, independent woman.

''This is closest to me as a character. I didn’t need to step into another person. This was more of a fun flowing, easy to do sort of a role. I haven’t had that glam avatar for a while as I have been doing small-town roles. It is nice and refreshing to break,'' she said about her role in the upcoming film.

While in ''Adipurush”, she plays Janaki -- a character that is said to be loosely based on Sita from the epic ''Ramayana'', Sanon will do stunts in “Ganapath”. ''In ‘Adipurush’, I have a strong character and at the same time it is a period, historical film. ‘Ganapath’ is dirty, messy, and it has a ‘Mad Max’ vibe to it. There is a lot of action and something that I haven’t done before at all,'' she added.

Each of her roles in these three movies have been demanding in their own way, said the Delhi-born actor.

Citing the example of her 2021 critically-acclaimed drama ''Mimi'', Sanon said it is not necessary that only hard-hitting or serious roles pose a challenge.

''‘Adipurush’ was very challenging because of the weight of the character. There is a lot more internal prep, like how I am going to speak, the body language has to not look contemporary, etc. So, I had to keep a check on those things.

''‘Ganapath’ is challenging in a different way because I don’t know the skills. I don’t know how to ride a bike and how to do action. So, the idea is to learn all of it and be able to portray it with confidence and look like a pro,” the actor said.

Describing “Shehzada”, her first release film of 2023, Sanon said the film is a complete package of emotion, romance, and action. Starring Kartik Aaryan in the title role, the movie is the Hindi remake of the 2020 Telugu blockbuster “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo”, which starred Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde.

The Hindi version, helmed by Rohit Dhawan, marks Sanon's second collaboration with Aaryan after their 2019 hit “Luka Chuppi”.

''I feel there is great chemistry because of us knowing each other. We have done work before, so that happens instantly on screen. When I heard this film, I felt it was an entertaining film. It has got everything in it which the family audience will enjoy, it is a film for all age groups,” she said.

Last year two of her big-ticket theatrical releases, comedy-horror “Bhediya” co-starring Varun Dhawan and Akshay Kumar-led action comedy “Bachchan Panday”, didn't receive a warm response from viewers.

“It has a lot to do with timing and how many screens you get. If there’s another film that has come before. I don’t want to sound, I am defending but I feel in both cases, like in the case of ‘Bachchan Panday’, ‘The Kashmir Files’ was like a wave. I don’t think an Akshay Kumar film got less screens.

''Having said that, if you compare ‘Bhediya’ with the expectations because of other factors, it may feel underwhelmed but it got a lot of love. It was running for 50 days, which doesn’t happen (much today). Maybe in a different timing and scenario, it would have done (well),” she said.

''Shehzada'', produced by Bhushan Kumar, Allu Arvind, Aman Gill and Aaryan, is scheduled to hit the screens Friday.