In a fascinating in-depth conversation, Kriti Sanon speaks with Subhash K Jha about her role as the troubled Mukti in Aanand Rai’s Tere Ishk Mein.
Would you say Mukti in Tere Ishk Mein is your most complex character so far?
Mukti, I think, has been very different as an experience for me as an actor, because this was one character which was extremely layered and didn’t have a lot of crutches or dialogues. In fact, in most scenes, what she’s saying or doing was in conflict to what she was feeling inside. And there was a lot of unsaid emotions and feelings in between the dialogues and in between lines, which was only to be communicated with the eyes and with body language and with everything but words. And I think that was a very new experience for me. I think that kind of challenges you in different ways as an actor and you tap into a different part of you as an actor more than yourself.
Mukti seems confused about what she wants, how clear headed are you about matters of the heart?
Yeah, very rightly said. I think Mukti is very torn between her heart and her brain in multiple situations. I think as human beings, all of us are at some point or the other conflicted because sometimes feelings and hormones and attachment may feel a certain way. But as women, when we fall in love, we also look at a bigger picture. We also look at a life with the person. We straight go to marriage in our heads and we want to imagine a life with the person that we are feeling for. I, though, on the other hand, have always been someone who falls really deeply and passionately in love and I think from my heart.
Is that a safe zone to be in?
I have had experiences where, you know, eventually you kind of realize that, yes, you need to be in love. But also having a life partner is very different from just being in love with someone. And there are a lot many things like compatibility, feeling safe and, you know, feeling respected, which come into play.And all that also matters as much as love does, if not more.
Tere Ishk Mein is being called out for being misogynistic and for glorifying stalking,how do you respond to this?
Honestly, I feel any film is a piece of art and art can be predicted in different ways by different people and that’s the beauty of it. Like, I may see something different in a painting and you may see something else. Similarly, when we’re watching a movie, you know, we all come from our own personality and our personal experiences, our point of views on things. And we might connect with different things in a film. We might see it differently and that’s the beauty of it. So, I love when a film is being discussed, when there are debates happening on different perspectives and point of views. And that basically means that the film made you think and feel and that is really important. If the film doesn’t make you feel anything, that’s actually the worst nightmare for any filmmaker or actor.
That is true…
And I think it’s beautiful that these debates are happening on Tere Ishk Mein. There are so many people who’ve also come and said that at the end you feel conflicted on who is more right or who is more wrong between Shankar and Mukti. Where at times two people can be right in their own place. And you may understand the characters and that’s beautiful. As far as misogyny is considered, I honestly feel what I found refreshing in this film is yes, there is a guy who we may call toxic and aggressive and he’s burning her house and he’s doing things that are highly aggressive and toxic like pouring kerosene on his head and a friend’s head of hers. But here’s also a woman who is calling out that toxicity where she is saying that can you even take a no? Can you take rejection? How do you expect me to say anything to you? Where she is saying that do not expect love in return from my side. And she doesn’t end up going to him for a very long time. She ends up rejecting him multiple times. She ends up telling him that you’ve burnt my house and we’re very different as people. And that I found very refreshing.
To its credit, Tere Ishk Mein takes note of both partners in the toxic relationship?
I feel there is also a female perspective which is new and we’re not glorifying the whole aggressive behaviour of the man. She calls out and she says you’re still aggressive, you’re still alpha and you love this image of yours which I think is very new. And while she does end up falling for him, realizing her love and finally lets her heart win over the brain, it’s much later when also there’s a lot of guilt that takes over. But I like that there are two perspectives and there’s also a female perspective of calling out the toxicity and not giving in to it.
