Kirti Kulhari made quite an impactful debut with 2010 crime thriller Shaitan. She followed it up with movies like Pink, Uri: The Surgical Strike and Mission Mangal. She stepped into the digital world with Amazon Prime Video’s Four More Shots Please which returns with the second season on April 17. Though Kulhari’s filmography suggests she has handpicked roles of stronger and independent women, the actor says she is glad to portray characters that “get through to people in a way where they’re like, ‘that’s how it should be or that’s how I should be’.”
Before the release of Four More Shots Please 2, we got to interact with Kirti Kulhari. Here are excerpts from the conversation:
The first season of Four More Shots was a success. Did you expect such a response?
I didn’t expect such a huge response. But I knew all along, that it’s a show that is going to resonate with a lot of people. It just felt like people were waiting to watch something to feel liberated and inspired. It’s not limited to a certain class or a certain kind of people. The success of the first season goes to tell you that we might have shown these four girls who are from certain strata of society or have a certain lifestyle, but the underlying things, like complications in their love life or their career, connected with everyone.
What can we expect from the second season?
You can expect another level of being unapologetically flawed. Now, the girls are pushing the boundaries. There is much more drama, and different issues will crop up in their life. While some of them are not entirely different from what you saw in the first season, some will take off from the first season. Also, while the first season created a base for you to understand and get into the world of these four girls, now you will see more depth and much more happening in their lives. It’s more human.
Four More Shots Please! is about flawed yet unapologetic women. How far do you resonate with the narrative of the web series?
Completely. I am as flawed as anybody else. It’s cool to say ‘oh, we are unapologetic’. I’m sorry but it doesn’t happen in real life. It doesn’t even happen in our show. You will see a lot of moments in the show where the characters have made mistakes, realised it and have felt sorry about their choices. When you say unapologetic, it just means you kind of wear your flaws on your sleeves. For me, being unapologetic means taking onus and responsibility for what I do, for all the right and the wrong choices I make. About being strong, all of us are strong. We just don’t know it till we face the challenges. I think women are stronger than men. Both, emotionally and mentally, women have been blessed to have the feminine power with which we can do so much. So, I completely connect with the narrative of the show.
In real, who do you relate with from among the four characters?
I have traits of all the four characters. There have been scenes where I felt ‘oh I would have done this’. Also being an actor, it’s a part of my DNA now to find myself in everybody. I have all of them in me and even my co-actors have all the parts in them.
People compared Four More Shots Please with Sex and the City. Was the comparison worrisome? Did you foresee the comparison?
Comparisons are unavoidable. We were aware that comparisons are going to be there. Sex and the City is not a far off thing and we are not even saying don’t compare it. It is human nature to try to find some kind of relation to something that happened in the past. We are not trying to fight those comparisons. If anything, we would be glad if we can leave an impact similar to Sex and the City.
Also, the show was criticised for being elitist. What do you think about it especially now, when the silver screen is showcasing more relatable and small-town stories.
Well, thanks to OTT platforms, there’s something for everybody. I don’t think people can complain about what they are not getting because literally with the number of shows that pop-up every single day, there is enough for everybody. We are not forcing our show down your throat. After the first season’s success, we are sure, some people enjoy watching this. But, understand, people who we portray in the show also need representation. That’s the whole point of cinema, everybody gets a chance to be represented, even a serial killer. We know some women want to watch the second season of the show, so that argument is just for argument’s sake.
If we look at your filmography, you have portrayed roles of strong independent women, be it Four More Shots Please, Uri or Mission Mangal. Has it been a conscious decision?
I don’t just look at characters that ‘oh she is strong’. I’m glad to be picking up roles, which get through to people in a way where they’re like, that’s how it should be or that’s how I should be. But if you look at my characters closely, you will see there are other shades to that person also. Having said that, one major deciding factor of me picking up any role is, I should not be bored. If I get bored playing the strong, independent woman, then I will also choose roles where you will see me not being strong. I will choose anything that gets me excited and pushes me as an actor and as a person.
You have worked with the likes of Irrfan Khan, Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and Amitabh Bachchan. Does having experienced co-actors enhance your performance?
Well, it just makes it a lot easier. When you have someone who knows his or her job well, this makes your job as an actor easier. But while it’s good to have a good actor in front of you, I think it’s better to have a good human being who is genuine. I have worked with people, whom you just wait for your work to get over and not see them again for even a second.