Set to headline her first film as producer, Kirti Kulhari on Nayeka, and the future of her stable
Kirti Kulhari
Considering that producing a film is a herculean task, one may assume that Kirti Kulhari’s decision to launch her own production house must have been a calculative one. However, the Pink actor is not one to chalk out elaborate plans. “In 2020, I was talking to a friend about making my own movies. It was something that simply occurred to me, and lingered. I knew I wanted to have more to do with film-making, and be at the top as far as story-telling is concerned,” says the actor, whose stable Kintsukuroi Films is inspired by a Japanese word that refers to the art of mending broken pottery with gold. “I want to mend broken hearts through art,” she says.
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The house’s first product is Nayeka, helmed by Ajaykiran Nair, which tells the tale of an aspiring female actor who gets entangled in a serious crime. “When Vashisht Upadhyay [producer], first brought the film to me in January 2021. I was immediately on board to act in it. It was deferred due to Covid. When we picked up the conversation in October again, I had a production house, and the original producers agreed to join hands with me.”
Over her journey in Bollywood, Kulhari has given many a winning performance. Her approach towards playing a character, she says, is internalising her state of mind. “The character would always be original, because it would stem from the person I am. I have to find her inside me. I’m good at neither imitating, nor borrowing. I observe myself a lot and try to bring that character from within me. I’ve never played a part like this one.”
Her aim as a producer in Bollywood is to tell stories that are “moving, and which make a difference to the world”. “I am focusing on films. It’s a good time to create content. So, I know it’s a conducive time to think out of the box and push the envelope.” Does direction fascinate her? “It is in the vicinity. I want to be comfortable with production before making that leap.”