Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2016)

Kriti Sanon's sister, Nupur, who has come up with cover versions of Dilwale songs, is getting a lot of attention on the social media. All set to follow her to Bollywood? "That's for her to figure," the actress retorts, pointing out that Nupur is a trained classical singer and has been working with some friends on composing. "The reactions to her songs have been great, maybe we will work together one day."

Heropanti was a surprise hit, Dilwale a disappointment, as even its actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan has acknowledged, but Kriti isn't complaining.

"There was a lot of pressure on me when I signed Dilwale and though it did not do as well in India, overseas the business was crazy despite competition from another film (Bajirao Mastani). It opened in places where Hindi films are never screened. My first film was a hit but not many saw it. But getting noticed all over the world is a big deal for me!" she asserts.

Kriti recently performed a tribute to the late actress Sadhana at the Filmfare Awards, after only two days of rehearsals. "I'm learning to work under pressure. Yesteryear songs are slow and demanding on the expressions. As a child I sported the 'Sadhana cut' too."

Her next film is Dinesh Vijan's directorial debut with Sushant Singh Rajput, who had studied engineering like Kriti. "He was a padakhu and got high grades in college. Working with him should be fun," she asserts. Point out that she missed out on the chance to work with Akshay Kumar when she opted out of Singh is Bliing to do Dilwale and she says that there's no bad blood between them even though they haven't been in touch. "At a party, he told me I'd made the right decision. He is very understanding," she says.

At 5 feet 8 inches, she towers over most of her heroes but doesn't think that'll come in her way. "Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma are tall too. In fact, during Dilwale, Shah Rukh sir joked that he's working with a short heroine (Kajol) after a long time," she chuckles.