Actress Kritika Kamra, who recently appeared in the web series Gyaarah Gyaarah, has been trying to carve a niche for herself in films and OTT after a successful television career. In a candid chat with The Free Press Journal, the actress opens up on how she has chosen quality over quantity when it comes to showbiz, and how she believes she is 'privileged' enough to filter out the projects she wants to pursue in the industry.
"It turns out that if you want to do quality work, there isn't much to choose from. I am constantly torn between whether I want to do things for visibility or quality, and for me, quality wins that argument. So, if I want to do qualitative work, I will have to wait long periods for that kind of work to come my way, then those things to be edited and packaged together and then for them to come on screen," she says while explaining her process of filtering out her projects.
She further states, "I have consciously chosen the longer route because I don't want any instant gratification. Instant fame doesn't drive me. At one point, I was told that more visibility was a problem and that television actors were 'overexposed'. That's the notion. But I feel it's all trial and error. As long as I can avoid doing something just for visibility or money or any of these quick games, I will avoid it."
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Kritika acknowledges the privilege gained from having worked in television for many years. "My journey in films and OTT from television was a slow one. I had to start from scratch but it would sound very mean if I said I faced hardships. I have a body of work on television and I had made myself a name and got some financial security from it in order to make the decisions I made later on. I had that head start. I had that privilege in that sense. So, there is not a struggle for survival. Right now, it is a very creative struggle. The struggle is to strike balance between quality and visibility. The idea to keep taking on challenging parts," she avers.
Admitting that she is not a "people pleaser", the Tandav actress tells us that she does not feel the pressure of the expectations her fans have from her. "I don't feel the pressure of someone else's expectations, rather I expect a lot from myself. I am not doing anything here to please anybody. Of course, I am happy and grateful for the love my fans shower on me, but that's that. I know that the audience is very smart and they will love a character if they like it. If they want to see more of me, I take it as a good thing, but it's not pressure," she states.
Kritika says that the one thing she does not want in her career is stagnation. "I have been making the conscious choice to take up diverse roles. I have to make choices that show my range as an actor. Only then will people invest in me. I understand that I am ultimately a commodity. Somebody has to see value in me to invest in me. And with the choices I have made so far, people have finally started offering me diverse projects. Just going and proving that I am fit for a part makes me happy and I can do it for as long as it takes," she concludes.
