'Assume greater responsibility for my films now'

In trade parlance, an actor has truly arrived when s/he lands a titular role in a project. Almost six years after making her Bollywood debut, Kiara Advani could well say that she has broken into the big league as she stars in and as Indoo in Indoo Ki Jawani. "I don't feel I have arrived yet," she says over phone. "But I do assume greater responsibility for my films now. There is a sense of confidence instilled in me when I know that a director or producer wants only me in the film. It has taken a long time to get to a phase where I am telling the stories I want to tell. There are directors who are willing to wait for my dates, and I want to live up to their faith in me."

Indoo Ki Jawani

In an industry where success is interlinked with box-office numbers, Advani had a splendid run last year with Kabir Singh and Good Newwz. The actor opened 2020 with Netflix's Guilty, proving that she can strike a balance between content and commerce. She emphasises that box-office pressure is not playing on her mind as Indoo Ki Jawani is set for a big-screen outing. "We need to be practical and not expect too much from its box-office [performance]. The world is not operating the way it did pre-pandemic. So, our sense of normal has shifted, thus effecting a shift in how an actor should be perceived. I hope people watch the film wherever they are comfortable - theatres or on the OTT platform [later]."

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For her, the biggest high in the Abir Sengupta-directed comedy is her character. "Indoo is a feisty girl who is set in her ways. She is nothing like me; I am neither opinionated nor judgmental. Her idea of love is also different from mine. I am an old-world romantic who doesn't buy into the idea of dating apps."