Kritika Kamra said- I had taken a break from television, I had staked a lot on that film.

For some time now, well-known TV actress Kritika Kamra has been seen in diverse roles. Kritika Kamra, who is seen in many web series like ‘Bheed’, ‘Hush Hush’, ‘Bombay Meri Jaan’ and ‘Gyarah Gyarah’, has worked hard to make her place in the entertainment world. In this special meeting she talks about untouched aspects of her life.Today you have earned your name in the entertainment world. At this stage of your career and age, do you miss someone from your family who is no longer in this world?
I was very close to my maternal grandparents. I used to spend a lot of time with him/her. My grandmother used to encourage me a lot regarding my drama and speech competitions. Especially whenever I participated in any cultural program, she used to be very happy. I was very young at that time when my maternal grandparents left this world within a year. If she were alive today, she would definitely be happy to see my acting career. This would have been a very new and big thing for him/her, because no one in my family ever did anything in the performing arts. The atmosphere in his/her time was very conservative. Girls were not allowed to do all these things. My mom was also very fond of performing arts, but she was not allowed to do it. My parents were quite liberal. They didn’t stop me from doing anything and today anyway a lot has changed.

For a long time, you have been portraying many strong female characters on screen, but being a girl, what bothers you the most in real life?
This is our social structure, our conditioning is also done in such a way that we are taught from a very early age that a girl should be attractive, obedient to everyone, soft and soft-spoken. The calmer she is, the better girl she will be. Having all these is considered among your qualities. You are taught to make others happy, feed others, and take care of others first. This conditioning is given to you since childhood. You see your mother doing this at home. You have seen it done around you. Many times this spirit of service is instilled in you, but when you enter your professional life, many times you have to leave this conditioning behind. This then becomes very difficult, because if a girl is a leader or holds a senior position, she may have to take many tough decisions. You have to put your point forward strongly. We girls face difficulty in treating ourselves as equals at the workplace due to our conditioning, because we are always taught to be subservient. Many times, if there are six men present in a room and they are expressing their views on some issue, then we women feel hesitant in expressing our views. Lest his/her words prove to be worthless. Now see, it is very easily said about the actress that she has tantrums. Professionalism is very important for me, but sometimes we are tagged as difficult to handle. Judgment is easily passed regarding girls. All these things bother me outside.

What would you like to say to today’s girls?
That they should be self-reliant. It is very important for them to be financially self-reliant. Only then will they be able to muster the courage to take their own decisions. My father taught me the lesson of self-reliance in my very childhood. he/she taught me that it is important to be financially independent and at the same time have my own identity. It was he/she who taught me that it should never happen that you have to depend on your father, brother or partner, so I developed that lesson very quickly within myself. I remember I did a summer job after completing my school. At that time I used to stay at my aunt’s house in Delhi. he/she got ten thousand rupees as his/her first earning, which was a lot in those times. I had earned these jobs by doing marketing work. I sent a large part of my first earning to my mother and used the remaining money to party with friends. Whenever I choose my relationships, I choose equal. I believe in equality. Survival is not my need. I am not looking for any provider. When you start earning yourself, a different sense of freedom comes to you. You don’t need to take anyone’s permission. You have your own money, which you can spend as you wish.

There was a phase in your career when you were about to make your Bollywood debut with a big film starring Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor? But when that didn’t happen, were you disappointed?
This was the period when I had worked a lot in TV. I met these people regarding the film and everything was finalized. We had done the reading of the script etc. The costume trial had also been done. The calendar of shooting schedule dates had also arrived. But due to budget issues that film was not made. It was very unfortunate. But it was not my fault. I felt very bad because I had taken a break from television. I had staked a lot on that film. I had to wait, but I did not lose courage. I continued meeting people. I kept giving auditions continuously. As a result I got the film ‘Friends’. Then OTT happened and the path of my acting started getting paved. I learned that opportunities won’t just walk into you. You will have to look for opportunities.

Your career started with TV. People say that the small screen serves regressive content. Do you also believe so?
Even on the small screen, I tried to be a part of progressive content. I did shows like Kuchh To Log Kahenge, Reporters. I never did any mother-in-law-daughter-in-law drama. I have never done such shows where the female lead is only harassed. If we talk about TV audience, a large part of the country can afford only TV serials. They cannot afford OTT subscription or movie tickets, but also see that a large population of our country is still backward and they relate to it, but if this change comes at the grass root level, then those viewers Will also reject this content.