Pink changed many perceptions, and one of them is about Kirti Kulhari. Seen as just another striking face, the industry suddenly opened up to her talent as she made us believe in Falak Ali. It was followed by a couple of interesting commercials, and one realised she always had it, it were we who were refusing to see the intensity behind the pretty face. One of those who watched Pink was Madhur Bhandarkar and he didn’t waste much time in offering Kirti the title role in Indu Sarkar , his comment on Emergency.
“I agree with you. With a good looking girl or boy, people tend to presume that you won’t know much about acting. That’s stupid because it doesn’t work in any other film industry. I knew I have to change this perception. I had to make more than regular effort. I have no control over my looks but I know my job.” Filmmakers prefer to take a fresh face over a talented supporting actor. “There are many such perceptions,” agrees Kriti. “But there are always exceptions as well,” she insists. “I always believed I had it in me, and Pink brought it out in front of millions of people . And most importantly, in front of industry people because that’s where my opportunity lay.”
Right now, the name of opportunity is Indu Sarkar, a poet who stammers. “It didn’t take me much time time to decide. It is a title role and has Emergency as the backdrop. It is a part of history that not many youngsters know about,” reflects Kirti.
Suppressed voice
The challenge for Kirti was to get the speech impediment right. “It is a great opportunity for me to push myself as an actor. Indu stammers throughout the film. It is not that after she gains confidence, her speech gets sorted. It is only that during the course of her journey, she embraces her limitations.” Kirti clarifies though the events that form the backdrop are real, Indu and her journey are fictional. “In a way, a stammering Indu Sarkar represents the suppressed voice of the common man and how she finds her voice by the end of the film, forms the crux. It is a conflict of ideologies and values that people believe in.”
Kirti doesn’t believe in going for reference points. “I wanted to keep it fresh and original. I did watch videos of stammerers. I watch The King’s Speech again to have a close look. I visited a psychologist to understand the back story of Indu. What affects her, what could be her past....” With her, Kirti realised that there are so many kinds of stammering and there are so many reasons as to why people stammer. “A lot of it shaped my understanding of the character. The stammer is the result of post traumatic stress as Indu loses her parents during childhood. The degree of stammer also depends on stimulus as stammerers don’t stutter when they talk to kids or pets. I didn’t want to go k..k..k... I didn’t want to sound Bollywoodish,” remarks Kirti. The next step was to train with a speech therapist. With her help, I understood and decided on what kind of stammer I have so that there is a consistency in my performance. I had to create something that looks authentic and cinematically acceptable. As my speech should not take away people from the essence of the film.”
Relevant issue
India has undergone lot of socio-political changes since Emergency but freedom of speech keeps coming under threat from time to time. “I was shocked to read about those times. And 18-19 months is a pretty long period. We will be able to give you a pretty good picture of what the general vibe was and freedom of speech is the most important theme of the film. During that period the voice of press was suppressed. And even today we keep hearing about muzzling of freedom of expression. The degree may be different, the context may be different but the issue is still relevant. I hope everybody will be able to relate to it,” muses Kirti.
And what about the body language? Kirti is today’s girl while Indu grew up in the 70s. “Today’s girl doesn’t have one prototype. There are different shades to girls even today,” counters the daughter of a Navy officer from Rajasthan who grew up in Mumbai. Having said that, she adds, “Cracking the speech helped me understand her personality, complexes and body language as well.”
The film is coming at a time when the Congress is out of power and Bhandarkar is seen close to the ruling dispensation. “I won’t be able to comment on that because it is his right to speech but in our country it is not easy to say what you want to say especially in terms of cinema. From censorship to ban, our films face lot of things which make filmmakers think twice before raising political and religious issues. That’s why we get so few political films. It is deeply researched and we have gotten into it with open eyes.”
Breezy comedy
Coming back to opportunities, for the last few nights, Kirti is shooting for Abhinay Deo’s “quirky urban comedy” Raita with Irrfan. After “two intense films” Kirti calls it “a welcome relief”. “It is a breezy comedy. I like to believe I have a sense of humour. Hope it translates on screen.” It must be frustrating for actors when they have to show up for roles that don’t do justice to their talent particularly when they know they have a limited time on their hand. “There was a time when I was desperate for opportunities but I never stopped myself from working on myself as an actor because I always believed that whenever I will get a real chance this is going to help me — not partying, not networking, not being seen on cover pages of glossy supplements. I did lot of theatre when I didn’t have much work to do. I believe that stars have a shelf life, actors don’t,” avers Kirti and quickly praises herself, “Wah! kya baat kahi hai maine.” Indeed!
