Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 11, 2019)

As women, trying to find their feet in their respective industries on their own terms, Nithya Menen and Kirti Kulhari have come a long way. Nithya has had her share of well-crafted characters in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films, while Kirti has played pivotal parts in films like Pink and Uri: The Surgical Strike. The two ladies will be seen sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Vidya Balan and Taapsee Pannu in the upcoming Mission Mangal. The actresses spoke to BT about this ambitious project, finding work on their own terms and why it’s not important to force-fit oneself in any one notion of beauty. Excerpts:

With eight acclaimed actors leading the cast of Mission Mangal, was it difficult to find your space in the narrative?
Kirti: Once upon a time, there were films like Jaani Dushman (1979), which had so many big names in the lead. When I am offered a film with multiple actors in the key cast, I feel relieved that I don’t have to do much; there’s not much riding on me (laughs!).
Nithya: To me, a film like that sounds like it that has many strong characters. This is not even a point of consideration for me. A good story demands actors to work together and make it believable. This is not about any one of us. I don’t ever think in terms of how many people I am sharing the lead space with. With the narration that I heard for Mission Mangal, it was obvious that it was a story of a mission that a team of scientists accomplished together. So, there was ample for each one of us.
Kirti: On a serious note, it’s really good that such stories are being told. It was the story that attracted me to the film. I’m glad that with films like Uri: The Surgical Strike and Mission Mangal, stories behind landmark events are reaching far and wide. People will know how we achieved something that was considered nearly impossible. Films like these educate and entertain without becoming overbearing. When I was approached for it, apart from the narration, I was amazed with the names that had come on board. The treatment was light and fun. When you hear the word mission, you tend to think it’s a serious film, but this is a slice-of-life movie. And with Akshay Kumar in the cast, it turned out to be more fun than I had imagined.
Nithya: This isn’t a run-of-the-mill kind of a film. It’s a space film, something that hasn’t been attempted before. It was an interesting premise for me. It’s my first Hindi film, and I wanted to make sure that I am in the right team. I’ve been offered Hindi films before but the approach and the reasoning Balki and director Jagan Shakti had for casting me seemed right to me. They were familiar with my work and I was specifically needed for this part. After a point, the language and the industry I was stepping into didn’t matter. I looked at it the way I would see any other film that I give a nod to.

The camaraderie, between Sonakshi Sinha, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu and the two of you was visible on the day of the trailer launch. With so many talented women and cool women as part of the cast, was it like a house on fire. People often have this reservation about so many actresses getting along and working together…
Kirti: We didn’t have to stage that camaraderie; it exists between us. And can someone explain how do men get along? I think they have more issues than women do when it comes to getting along with each other. I’ve done Pink and some other projects, and so I am used to hanging out with other women. Akshay spoilt all of us equally on the set with his ghar ka khaana. We could shamelessly ask him to bring things. The atmosphere on the set was warm; why is that hard to buy? With someone like Nithya on the set, we got so many insights into how the South film industry functions. The things she (Nithya) stands for in the South and the kind of films she eventually does, is what I am trying to do here. She’s fought for so many things to finally be able to do things on her own terms. Also, when we got the script, we all knew what each one was doing in the film. So, we just got down to work and passionately did what our parts required. None of us was bothered about what the other was trying to do with their part. At the end of the day, we had to be the characters and do what is needed for them to feel real. That is what people will eventually remember when they see the film.
Nithya: I was making my debut in Bollywood, and I felt it was wonderful being on a set like this. It was very different and far more professional than a set down South. Also, I have never done a film with so many women in the past. All the women in the cast were good to me. They didn’t let me feel like an outsider in their world. In a way, I was a debutante, but I was treated at par with all of them. They respected and acknowledged my work. We appreciated each other for pulling off a scene well or for anything else one of us did. A film is bigger than any of us. We’ve collectively tried to do something, which could not have been marred by personal rivalries. Thankfully, we were all on the same page. Competing with each other, especially when we are all playing equally important characters, doesn’t work. It’s a wrong notion that any of us would have tried to show one-upmanship. We worked together to bring out the best in each other, displaying our strengths to the fullest.

It’s taken the industry quite long to start making ensemble films without giving into stereotypes. Why do you think films have only now started playing to an actor’s strengths more than his or her face value?
Kirti: For decades, the film industries in the South and here have functioned on the star system. People have thronged to cinemas to catch a particular star’s film and that has driven a lot of things. But things are gradually changing. While we continue to make stereotypical multi-starrers, films with a hefty cast that don’t play by those rules are also on the rise. We have taken a long time to be okay with so many of us working together in a film with equally prominent roles. Hollywood has had such films for decades. Today’s generation is far more secure in that sense. Also, it takes a lot of security for an actor at an individual level to decide to share screen space with another buddy, who is as famous as him or her.
Nithya: Things are changing right now because of the exposure that the audience has to international content. It’s more accessible to us than it ever was. That has made people sit up and take note of everything from performances and stories, to the technical aspects of a film. The film industry in India is playing catch-up, which is beneficial for everyone. Newer platforms have made people realise that you don’t need a face to sell a good story; you need the right mix of actors who may or may not be stars. That is gradually rubbing off on the rest of the industries.

The film industry has certain expectations of how a leading lady should look, and you both don’t really fit into that conventional box. What are your thoughts?
Kirti: At the outset, I was doing ad films. I had the options of going completely commercial or taking off on the path that I am on to today. It was a given that I might go the commercial route but somewhere along the way, I started understanding myself better. I wisened up and adhered to the fact that I was gravitating to some very different kind of work. I’ve been through that phase of being unsure of how I look. In such phases, people around you often advise you, to the point of not even letting a pimple pass by without a comment. At one point, I wasn’t happy with the way I looked. I had issues with it. Today, things are different but getting here has been a journey of understanding what can keep me sane. For the sake of a character, I will do anything, even go bald if need be. But at a personal level, I want to be an individual who doesn’t look or sound like every other walking-talking person in the industry. It takes something to be the person you are. The day you become okay with who you are, it’s magical how people outside will also be okay with you. I’ve experienced it to say it with authority. Today, I don’t feel the need to fit into a certain mould of beauty. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, but you need to believe that first when you see yourself in the mirror.
Nithya: I wish I could trim my curls a bit, but the industry likes it this way, so I let it be. But it’s right that there is a lot of emphasis on how an actress looks. I’ve had to deal with that. There is a lot of criticism and backlash and undue negative commentary that comes your way when you don’t fit into the typical definition of beauty. You have to be sure of what you are and why you do things. It’s impossible for me to go against my heart and do something, ever. I’d rather brave the comments than try to force-fit myself into any notion beauty because it’s never a constant. The notion changes all the time; how much can you change yourself? Mental and physical health is important. I don’t feel the need to change or nit-pick on small things about myself and get affected by it. I believe in being healthy and never doing anything where I need to go against myself, whatever the repercussions are.

Actresses are often subjected to body-shaming, and as women, what’s your defence mechanism? Does an actor’s physical appearance limit the kind of work that comes their way?
Nithya: Physical appearances can limit you as an actor and there’s no point in sugar-coating that. It impacts the roles that come your way. Yes, I completely understand that as an actor people want to see you looking fit and they find it difficult to accept you otherwise. It’s a visual medium and it has its demands and limitations and we all have to play by that. But people who make incessant negative remarks about an actor’s look need to consider the fact that we, too, are human. While my fans don’t increase or reduce with a change in my contour, there’s always talk about how I need to look a certain way. Despite the troubles and trolling that I have faced, I’ve never felt the need to attempt size zero to fit into a film. People assume that weight is a result of eating without exercising. Trust me, no actor is lazy. An actor’s physicality does not define their acting prowess.

Despite the criticism, how do you manage to stay positive? Would you like to elaborate on that…
Nithya: Nasty comments or the pressures will lead you nowhere. It’s not easy to talk like I am talking today. We’ve all been through our phases of being hurt, feeling insecure and pained with what is spoken about us. While dealing with insecurities of this profession, I’ve always looked at the bigger picture. Sometimes, I’ve allowed myself to cry and get over it. Sometimes, people have a narrow perspective. I can deal with a lot of negativity also because my life goes beyond films. My work doesn’t consume me. If films were at the centre of my life, things would have been harder. I’ve never tried to be a part of films; it’s happened organically.
Kirti: No one can lie or pretend here. You have to be secure and grounded to be able to see the bigger picture. It’s important to find yourself and not compromise on that, which even my co-actresses have done. I just remind myself of what I want from life and figure a route to get there.