Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 25, 2019)

2019 has been a year of highs for Kirti Kulhari. The actor starred in two of the biggest films of the year, URI: The Surgical Strike and Mission Mangal. Her performances have been lauded but Kirti is in no mood to rest on her laurels. “I’m quite grounded and don’t get carried away with success. That comes from the maturity and the way I’ve dealt with life. I feel grateful and elated, but the last few years have taught me to move on, be it from success or failure. While I feel blessed with the way 2019 has turned out, what I’m thinking right now is what’s next,” she says.

The films created a roar at the box office and crossed the coveted ₹200 crore mark. But Kirti doesn’t believe in gauging success with box office numbers. “Thankfully, there’s a distinction between how the world views my success and how I view it. Box office success is not the only definition of success for me. But it does strengthen your position as an artiste. It also increases your market value and ultimately, bigger and better things come your way,” she grins.

So, what has really changed for the actor? “Now I’m considered one of the better actors in the industry. Nobody can deny that. People don’t offer me random things anymore. They know that if there’s anything less than good, I’ll not do it. My credibility has gone notches up. I’ve consistently proven that I’m capable,” she says.

What made 2019 even more special for Kirti were her web series, Four More Shots Please! and Bard Of Blood. Sharing her thoughts on the digital boom, she says, “I follow my heart and a little bit of my mind to do work that gets me excited. With the current wave of OTT, the content it is bringing and the way the audience is receiving it worldwide, it would be stupid of me to say that I’ll not do a web series,” she adds.

Her next, The Girl On The Train will see her in a new avatar. “I will don a look in it that people have never seen in Indian cinema. I finished shooting for it. All of it was shot in London. I’m playing a British investigative cop in it,” says an excited Kirti.