‘Just Labelling Me An Actor Isn’t Enough’

‘I
will
be
whatever
I
want
to
be
without
you
putting
any
kind
of
label
on
me.’

Kriti
Sanon
says
she
was
thrilled
to
finally
share
significant
screen
time
with
senior
actor
Kajol
in
their
film,



Do
Patti.

The
mystery
thriller
film,
which
also
marks
Kriti’s
production
debut,
features
her
in
a
dual
role
alongside
Kajol.
It
is
their
second
collaboration
after

Dilwale
in
2015.

The
actor
said
she
was
glad
to
share
some
‘meaty
scenes’
with
Kajol,
something
they
couldn’t
do
when
they
worked
on

Dilwale,
which
was
directed
by
Rohit
Shetty
and
also
starred
Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Varun
Dhawan.

“I
was
excited
that
finally,
I
will
get
to
do
some
meaty
scenes
with
her
which
I
didn’t
get
during

Dilwale.
I
feel
she’s
just
getting
better
and
better
in
the
way
she
looks
and
the
way
she
is
on
set,”
Kriti
says.

“I
love
that
it’s
always
collaborative
and
we’re
discussing
the
scene
and
she’s
really
involved,
whether
it
is
helping
you
here
and
there
or
patting
on
your
back,
which
means
a
lot
coming
from
her.
I
had
a
blast
and
was
like,
‘Oh
my
God,
I’m
finally
getting
to
do
this’.”

Kajol
said
she
couldn’t
get
to
know
Kriti
during
the
making
of

Dilwale
as
they
didn’t
have
too
many
scenes
together.

“This
was
quite
a
welcome
surprise.
She
has
definitely
grown
and
you
can
see
that
from

Dilwale
to
here,
it’s
been
quite
a
journey,
picking
up
a
National
Award
along
the
way
as
well,”
Kajol
says.

Written
by
Kanika
Dhillon
and
directed
by
debutant
Shashanka
Chaturvedi,

Do
Patti
revolves
around
twin
sisters
and
a
determined
police
inspector
(played
by
Kajol)
who
is
investigating
a
case
of
attempted
murder
in
the
fictional
town
of
Devipur,
Uttarakhand.

Kriti
said
Kajol’s
cop
character
serves
as
the
‘moral
compass’
of
the
story
and
through
her
eyes,
the
mystery
gets
unravelled.

“She’s
the
one
sort
of
narrating
this
story
and
through
her,
you
get
to
know
bits
and
parts
of
the
story.
It’s
like
this
really
strong
character.
I
feel
like
she
comes
with
so
much
of
gravity
and
credibility,”
she
added.

Why
did
it
take
her
such
a
long
time
to
play
a
cop
on
screen?
Kajol
said
she
was
waiting
for
the
right
project
to
come
along.

“I
have
been
offered
cop
roles
before
but
I
always
felt
it
was
not
something
that
could
be
taken
lightly.
It
had
to
be
a
really
good
script
for
me
to
accept
it.

“Somehow,
something
just
didn’t
gel
right.
Sometimes
the
script
was
not
good
enough,
or
the
director
and
producer
were
not
great.
I
felt
that
if
I’m
doing
something,
I
have
to
do
it
well,
and
put
in
your
300
per
cent.
So
yes,
I
did
take
a
long
time
to
do
it
and
I
felt
that
the
script
was
the
right
one
for
it,”
Kajol
said.

Kriti
said
it
was
a
challenge
to
make
her
dual
roles
look
different.

“It
was
fun
because
as
an
actor,
suddenly,
you’re
getting
to
play
two
characters
in
one
film
itself.
That
doesn’t
happen
often.
But
how
do
you
make
those
characters
different?
Of
course,
they’re
written
differently,
but
there’s
stuff
that
you
can
add.

“They
don’t
talk
differently
in
terms
of
dialect
as
they’re
sisters,
they’re
born
and
brought
up
in
the
same
environment.
A
lot
of
scenes
had
both
characters
in
it,
so
technically,
it
gets
challenging
but
interesting,”
she
said.

Kajol,
who
has
double
roles
in

Dushman
(1998)
and

Kuch
Khatti
Kuch
Meethi
(2001),
said
Kriti’s
portrayal
of
twin
sisters
in

Do
Patti
was
more
challenging.

“A
double
role
in
this
film
is
very
different.

Dushman
had
scenes
but
not
as
many
of
them
together.
The
two
sisters
were
seen
less
together
in
the
movie.
But
in

Do
Patti,
the
two
sisters
are
together
for
70
per
cent
of
the
film.

“So
for
her,
it’s
a
very
technically
challenging
aspect
of
playing
a
double
role.
You’re
playing
two
characters.
You
are
reacting
to
yourself,
and
everything
has
to
be
perfect.
She
rose
up
to
the
challenge
quite
wonderfully,”
she
added.

Do
Patti
marks
the
start
of
Kriti’s
producing
journey
as
she
has
backed
the
movie
through
her
banner
Blue
Butterfly
Films
alongside
fellow
first-time
producer
Dhillon
of
Kathha
Pictures.

While
on
set,
Kriti
said
she
prioritised
her
role
as
an
actor.

“I
don’t
really
come
out
as
a
producer
on
set.
For
me,
producing
this
was
more
about
being
involved
creatively,”
she
said.

Kriti
is
not
the
first
female
star
to
turn
producer
in
recent
times.
Besides
her,
Alia
Bhatt,
Deepika
Padukone,
Priyanka
Chopra
Jonas,
Anushka
Sharma,
Kangana
Ranaut,
Taapsee
Pannu
and
Richa
Chadha
have
also
taken
a
plunge
into
the
producing
world.

Asked
how
she
sees
the
trend
of
female
actors
turning
producers
in
the
Hindi
film
industry,
Kajol
said
it
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction.

“It’s
a
natural
evolution
for
every
actor
to
want
to
eventually
do
something
more
than
just
act.
Turning
producer
on
films
that
they
believe
in
makes
a
difference
and
says
something
about
what
they
want
to
represent
in
society
as
well.

“That’s
where
women
are
standing
up
and
saying
that,
you
know,
just
labelling
me
as
an
actor
or
as
a
working
woman
is
not
enough.
I
will
be
whatever
I
want
to
be
without
you
putting
any
kind
of
label
on
me,”
she
said.

Do
Patti
also
features
television
star
Shaheer
Sheikh
in
his
movie
debut
along
with
Tanvi
Azmi
and
Brijendra
Kala.
It is
streaming
on
Netflix.