 "EXCLUSIVE! Kriti Kharbanda on Netflix 'Rana Naidu Season 2': ‘I spent the first ten years of my career, only wanting to fit in, hoping…’")
Recently there was a lot of discussion on gender pay gap in the entertainment industry when Deepika Padukone wanted 20 crores and a cut of the profit, her lines to be dubbed and eight hours of work per day. Padukone’s demands were not justified as per Animal director Sandeep Vanga. And how male actors charging a whopping amount is normalized in the entertainment industry. Kriti Kharbanda spoke on gender bias and how she struggled to fit in and be accepted for ten years.
A new entrant in Netflix’s Rana Naidu, Kriti Kharbanda, spoke on her role, working with original cast of Netflix’s Rana Naidu and more.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
Kriti, since you are a new entrant on the show, what was your prep like?
I actually went from being a fan to the cast because I loved season one. When I started reading my part, when I was reading the script the good thing was I felt I knew everyone. I didn’t have the opportunity to work with anybody else from the show except for Rana because the two of us have a dysfunctional family on the show that we have to take care of which involves Rajat Kapoor, Tanuj Virwani and me. I play Alia Oberoi and she’s somebody who is extremely cut throat and belongs to the film business.
She’s very ambitious and wants to do a lot more with her life. She’s fighting a very subtle battle. There is a gender bias in her life. She feels she’s not being taken seriously or given due credit because she’s a woman. What I loved the most about her is that you cannot hate her. You may end up justifying her actions and empathizing with her because it is coming from a place where you feel she doesn’t really have a choice. In three words if I have to tell you; she’s an observer, a strategist, and a disruptor.
On the gender bias in the industry and different workplaces, what is your view on that?
We have spent far too much time in our lives because we want to be liked. We don’t want to cross the line. As a girl while you are growing up, you are told to behave like a girl, to sit like a girl. If you ask for too much, you are labelled as difficult. We are told what is good conduct and what is bad conduct. You spend a big part of your life, wanting to be liked and hoping to be liked. But we need to understand that it’s okay if somebody doesn’t like me. I spent the first ten years of my career, only wanting to fit in trying to fit in, hoping that people like me so that they work with me again.
But then I realised I was bringing the same amount of professionalism. I am as tired because I am spending two hours on a makeup chair. I feel a lot of things and now I’m not afraid to voice them. It’s fine to agree to disagree. When you start thinking like that, it becomes a lot easier.
WATCH the trailer of Netflix’s Rana Naidu Season 2 here:
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