Actor Kriti Sanon recently spoke in favour of the Hindi film industry, which has been under scrutiny for the commercial failure of recent films. She reasoned that people’s expectations from Bollywood films have reached new heights; hence, even a box office earning of Rs 100 crore doesn’t make much difference. She also spoke about being an outsider in the film industry and how her parents never made her feel the need to earn money.
As YouTuber and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath said on his podcast WTF, “Bollywood is not thriving,” Kriti was quick to defend it, saying, “I think it is doing great. Who said it? My last two films did pretty well.” Kriti was last seen in Crew and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, both of which did decent business at the box office.
Nikhil insisted on his point and said, “It is harder for talent in Bollywood to make as much money as they did a couple of years ago. It is harder for Bollywood to employ the same number of people it once employed. The odds of a movie succeeding have gone down.”
Disagreeing with the YouTuber, the 34-year-old actor added, “Earlier, if a film earned Rs 100 crore, it would be a big deal. Now, Rs 100 crore is nothing. So, the expectation has gone somewhere else only. There was a phase when it (Bollywood) was not (thriving), but now theatres are back and how.” Singer-rapper Badshah, who was a part of the same interview, agreed with Kriti and argued that people in the film industry have learnt from the lean phase and are now surviving well.
Kriti Sanon made her acting debut opposite Mahesh Babu in the Telugu film 1: Nenokkadine. She made her Bollywood debut in the 2014 film Heropanti, also starring Tiger Shroff. Despite having no godfather, the actor made it big in the film industry. Though it used to be frustrating earlier, after ten years, Kriti feels she has made a place for herself in Bollywood.
“Sometimes I don’t have someone who will make a call (for me). I’ve had more of those moments and a little bit of whatever frustration earlier, but it’s taken me a decade to reach where I am today. Today, there’s a little less to prove myself. There is a sense of validation that’s happened over the 10 years, whether it is with the box office or whether it is as an actor. I’ve always been hungry to be known as a good actor, not just have stardom,” said Kriti.
Now, Kriti feels she has the liberty to choose her scripts, and that is not because of the financial security she has now. As she mentioned coming from a middle-class family, she never felt the need to earn money as her parents were earning well, Nikhil pointed out, “Anybody who says middle-class on camera gets trolled.”
To this, Kriti responded, “But I’ve genuinely been upper-middle-class, whatever, but I’ve not been someone who’s been like extremely rich and wealthy and all of that, but I’ve also not been someone who felt, ‘No, no, no, I need to do this for money’. I have a joint account with my father. I have no idea how much money is coming in and going out. Even today. Now, I’ve started being a little, ‘Tell me how much is there.'”
Kriti Sanon will next be seen in Do Patti and Housefull 5. She will also be turning producer for Do Patti.
