The last we saw Kriti Sanon on the big screen was in the scintillating dance number 'Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe' from Stree (2018). While she has had no releases in 2018, she had her hands full with films yet to be released.
Luka Chuppi (2019) is set to be released on 1 March, and that will be followed by Arjun Patiala.
Dressed in a yellow dress, Sanon warmly greeted journalists gathered to interview her. Sanon's last acting role was Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017).
During the conversation, Sanon spoke about the reason for picking Luka Chuppi, how co-star Gwalior boy Kartik Aaryan is a good host and how Bareilly Ki Barfi has led to more offers to play the small-town girl.
Excerpts:
A chhupi (hidden) differs from a chuppi (silence). As a child you must have played hide-and-seek, but what fun or chaos can we expect from this game of hide and conceal called Luka Chuppi?
It is the hide-and-seek that Guddu and Rashmi are playing with the family which leads to a live-in sahparivar [live-in with family]! It's about the family culture we have in India where everyone wants to know more about what is happening in the other person’s life and families are very involved in each other’s lives! You’ll take back home characters that are so, so relatable.
How has this hide-and-seek journey been?
It's been great. It's the fastest film I have ever shot. We shot in 40 days and the film was over. I came on board just a month-and-a-half before we started shooting. This was like a chatt mangni patt byaah [quick engagement, quicker wedding]. And now it is being released.
What prompted you to take this film on?
When I heard the narration first, I couldn't stop laughing. It was really hilarious. I liked the fact that this was a live-in concept placed in Mathura, which ends up, because of the situations, being a live-in sahaparivar. It was very fresh. I also liked for a change that it is not the guy who is asking, ‘do you want to marry?’ but the girl proposes a live-in relationship. Here the girl wanted to be sure whether she wants to marry him or not, and so opts for a live-in to know him better. I found Rashmi's character very fresh.
What’s your idea of a live-in?
I think to each their own. It should not be judged. I think everyone has their right to marry when they feel like marrying. Everyone has the right to be sure that this is the guy or the girl I want to marry. You want to see if you are compatible. So live-in is okay.
Are you open to it?
I feel that the kind of family I come from, I’m not sure if my parents would be okay with it. But I also know that my parents have given me enough freedom to marry when I want to and take my own time. I have enough freedom to be okay with not going for a live-in. But there was a recent conversation (my mom is going to kill me) where she told me that I said in an interview that she will not be okay with it. Mom said, 'I never said that', and so I was like, 'so are you okay with it?' She said, ‘yeah’. That was a change for me. I remember telling my parents that I am not going to ever have an arranged marriage. So don’t ever think of that for me. I need to be in love, know the person really well. It has to come from within that this is the one. They are okay with it.
After Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017), this is another film for you based in a small town. There’s also Arjun Patiala coming up. Do you feel comfortable with such characters?
Small-town flavours have something relatable. You feel certain things have happened in your life. There are certain characters who you feel like 'oh my mom also reacts like this'. In Bareilly Ki Barfi, her father [played by Pankaj Tripathi] is protective. Her mother [played by Seema Pahwa] sometimes wakes her up. My [real] mother does that sometimes. During school and college days, when I wouldn’t get up, my dad would pull legs and then warn me saying 'I'm going to drop you'. He used to give me a glass of milk while I was sleeping. I have been a pampered child.
How important is Luka Chuppi in your career?
I think every film is important. Every film can be the milestone that you need at that point of time or it can turn around things for you. So Luka Chuppi is equally important.
In Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) it was Ayushmann Khurrana and now in Luka Chuppi, you've worked with younger brother Aparshakti. How was the experience working with him?
Both of them are very alike. The first time I remember when I was doing my reading, I was reading my script and Apar just spoke and I looked at him and said 'you sound like Ayushmann'. They have a similar voice, similar sense of humour. They are both amazingly talented, both very simple. And they are Punjabis, which oozes out of them. Apar is also a chilled out and humble guy. He adds on a lot and tries to make the scene better.
Kartik Aaryan earlier spoke about being called 'Son of Gwalior' by you. Could you talk about that?
Yeah, Dinesh Vijan and I teased him a lot. I first landed in the city and I was amazed to find these hoardings welcoming him as the 'Son of Gwalior'. In fact, I have saved his number as 'Son of Gwalior'.
Do you consider Bareilly Ki Barfi as the film that changed things for you?
I consider Bareilly Ki Barfi as a milestone in the way people look at me. It did break that image of that urban glamorous heroine. I don't know if that image formed with just two films, but it did. People felt I could play such a role. After Bareilly..., I started getting a lot of small-town roles. In fact, 90% of scripts that I was getting were small-town roles, including characters belonging to villages. Bareilly has changed the perception and opened a lot more doors.
Kartik Aaryan said he was a good host in Gwalior. He treated you to rasmalais...
Yes, he served a lot of them. Thankfully, he got a heroine who is not on a diet. He got us a lot of food. For me, it was amazing every time because he used to get rasmalai [a sweet] every day. Then there was something called Bahadura ka ladoo, I've never had it before. It is like boondi ka ladoo but is so soft that that you pick it up and it literally melts.
During the shots, I had kachoris, tikkis, and there was one day where we all were really hungry. I was craving for junk food. He had spoken so much about some aloo patties. Some eight people squeezed in one car, and we went around trying to find aloo patties. A hawker was about to shut but once he realized Kartik is here, then he served. He is a good host.
What is your favourite comfort food?
I can have rajma chawal at any time. I’m very finicky about food. Butter chicken has to be authentic, which I haven’t found in Mumbai.
What would be your idea of an ideal romantic meal?
I don’t cook at all. I can watch a recipe on YouTube and cook. That’s about it. I am a good student. So it turns out good. I am a foodie. So I like people who are good at it. My idea of a romantic meal is very filmy. It is by the beach, with amazing food, a glass of wine, and maybe old songs or live music playing, waves touching your feet and fragrant candles.