Kriti Sanon on becoming a producer with Netflix and playing a robot

2024 has already been a busy year for Bollywood star Kriti Sanon with back-to-back box office hits and her directorial debut expected in the fall.

As revealed Variety, Sanon and fellow actor Kajol are headlining Netflix's original mystery thriller, “Do Patti.” The film marks the production debut of Sanon and writer Kanika Dhillon. One of Sanon's most acclaimed acting roles is the surrogacy comedy-drama “Mimi” (2021). Some of her thoughts and contributions which she discussed with director Laxman Utekar have been incorporated into the film.

“I really enjoyed the whole process of making this film. And I felt that ultimately, I also wanted to get involved in certain films that fascinate me, beyond the simple fact of being an actor, [to] be creatively present in the entire process of making the film,” Sanon said Variety. “And also, hopefully, in the future, [to] being able to support and tell a lot of stories that come from my heart, that I feel personally connected with. And I felt like it was the right time for me to find something.

“I was looking for something meaty, something that had heart, that said something, that was also a challenge for me as an actor. I was really going through a lot of content and couldn't find anything that deep. Sometimes, when you don’t find an opportunity, you have to create it,” Sanon added.

Sanon then caught up with Dhillon, whose writing credits include the Anurag Kashyap Toronto selection “Husband Material” (2018), the Vinil Mathew Netflix original film “Haseen Dillruba” (2021) and the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Rajkumar Hirani “Dunki” (2023), which has high rates. Dhillon took an idea from Sanon and mixed it with one of his own. “When I heard it, I got goosebumps,” Sanon said. “It’s been a great journey. It was a lot of learning. But more than anything, it has been very creatively satisfying to see how an idea, a seed, turns into a story and how that story finally comes to life with actors and the vision of a director.

Directed by debutant Shashanka Chaturvedi, 'Do Patti' is now in post and is expected to be released in the fall.

After training as an engineer and a stint in modeling, Sanon made his debut as an actor in 2014 with “1: Nenokkadine”, an action film, followed by another film of the genre, “Heropanti” , the same year. His later career highlights include the romantic comedies “Bareilly Ki Barfi” (2017), “Luka Chuppi” (2019), the ensemble comedy “Housefull 4” (2019) and the creature feature “Bhediya” ( 2022). She won the Best Actress award at the Indian National Film Awards for 'Mimi'.

Sanon's first release in 2024 was the sci-fi romantic comedy “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya”, in which she plays SIFRA (Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation), who robotics engineer Aryan (Shahid Kapoor) falls in love with . SIFRA ends up developing sensitive feelings.

“What was difficult was that there was no reference point. We've seen a lot of robot movies before, even in India, but they were very, very robotic. Here it was almost a humanoid, it was a robot that a robotics engineer doesn't know is a robot to a certain extent. SO, [SIFRA] must feel this real. And it’s close to being a human, but there must still be something wrong with her,” Sanon said.

The actress says she had to figure out how to make the character real, without being generically robotic or speaking and moving robotically. It made his movements fluid rather than jerky and his responses quicker and more confident.

“It can get really stifling because as actors you like fluidity, you like to improvise. You're looking at such a brilliant actor like Shahid Kapoor, who ends up doing an improvisation and you just want to react to him like a human would, but you're a robot. You must therefore always be very punctual and very correct. And I sometimes tried to time my blinks,” Sanon said. The actor is happy with the reaction to the film's finale where SIFRA malfunctions and she can do everything without overdoing it.

“Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” is one of the biggest Indian hits of 2024, as is “Crew,” which follows three flight attendants of a bankrupt airline who become involved in smuggling gold to a fictional Middle Eastern country in an operation that will financially save them and their unpaid colleagues. Sanon stars alongside Bollywood stars Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan. “Just being there in the same space as these two powerful women who are reinventing themselves and being so relevant, even after doing so many films, was a big moment for me,” Sanon said.

“It had a very well-etched storyline with well-written characters and these three women having their own stories, making their own moments shine and being from three different generations coming together in this crazy comedic heist, which has never happened before,” Sanon added.

A sequel to “Bhediya” is in preparation, as is that of “Crew”. Sanon is currently evaluating scenarios to decide on her next project. “I'm happy and satisfied, but I'm still a little eager to explore how I can push the boundaries a little more. I'm not in a hurry to sign anything, because I really only want to do something when I love it, love it, love it. So I’m looking for something that challenges me and makes me do something different than what I’ve done before,” Sanon said.