Kani Kusruti: I didn’t expect the year to go as it went

(From left) Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti in Girls Will Be Girls

Had Kani Kusruti pre-empted that 2024 would turn out the way it did for her? Not really, the actor admits, when we meet Preeti Panigrahi and her ahead of the India release of Girls Will Be Girls. It has been a dream year for Kusruti - first, director Shuchi Talati's coming-of-age drama won two awards at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival; then, director Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light, starring her, bagged the Cannes Grand Prix and went on to score two nominations at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards. "Talent is in surplus, but eventually it's about whether you've been given the opportunity to shine. I got the chance to work with Richie Mehta, Shuchi, and Payal Kapadia. How to construct the story and the character is a learning with each filmmaker. I didn't expect the year to go as it went," smiles Kusruti.

Girls Will Be Girls, backed by first-time producers Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha, and premièring on Prime Video, tells the story of 16-year-old Mira's complicated relationship with her mother Anila. Their equation runs the full gamut, from Mira's disdain towards her mom to them finding an unusual friendship. "Shuchi gave us a world that was wholesome. But I took some time to understand Anila. Shuchi's gaze helped me understand her better. Shuchi wants to have a dialogue, so I could think aloud and take the character in different directions. When Preeti came on board, the magic began. How she interpreted Mira helped me get Anila," recalls Kusruti.

Shuchi Talati

Panigrahi remembers immediately identifying with her character. Playing her, she says, was cathartic. "Mira is someone we all know. The character helped me embrace the insecurities that I could never address in my life. Through Mira, I'm able to say more about who I am and who I'll become as an actor. When I read the script, I loved the mother-daughter chemistry."

Considering the film hinges on the leads' equation, the duo recalls doing a chemistry test. Kusruti shares, "There is a dance scene, which we used to play off each other. Together, we could complete the film's visual language."