Kirti Kulhari — whom we remember as Falak Ali from Pink — stars opposite Irrfan Khan in the April 6 dark comedy Blackmail, directed by Delhi Belly man Abhinay Deo. t2 caught up with Kirti for a chat. 
 
Did the fact that your character in Blackmail has grey shades play a role in you saying yes to it?

Completely. I just wanted a break from this whole ‘white’ image that’s been created about me. Most people can’t distinguish the on-screen character from the off-screen person. So they tend to think you are the person who you have portrayed on screen. Pink and Indu Sarkar had me playing very ‘white’ roles, and that image had kind of stuck with me. For the sake of my own growth as an actor, I had to do something that broke that. 
I hadn’t done comedy in a while — I did start with Khichdi, which was a different kind of comedy — and when Blackmail came my way, I thought it would be fun to do something that’s grey. That’s how people are… most of us are grey, no one is purely white or black. It’s a very dark film and not just a plain comedy. I want to take this forward and play a completely dark character in a film next.

Your character in Shaitan was also grey, wasn’t it?

Yes, it was. But then everyone was either dark or grey in that film. In Blackmail, there’s a fair bit of comedy that arises out of somewhat serious situations. Whoever has seen the trailer so far has commented on how dark and intriguing the film is. Those who know me are excited to see me doing something different, something not so serious.

What was it like sharing screen space with Irrfan Khan?

When I read the script, I knew that Irrfan was on board and I could totally visualise him in the role. It’s always nice to work with good actors and to have Irrfan do a role like that and be a part of a black comedy, was a high. I think he’s a very chilled-out, down-to-earth, simple guy. He’s struggled a lot to be where he is and that’s what makes his outlook towards everything so normal. As an actor, he’s very involved. He knows his job very well. He’s not just good at his job but is also technically very sound. He’s a huge inspiration and has a very quirky sense of humour. I may not want to copy that, but it’s always nice to observe co-actors and absorb the best from them. Though I am playing his wife, when you watch the film you will realise that we don’t have many scenes together, but whatever time I spent with him has been a treat. 

It must be tough releasing the film without him… 

It is very tough, ya. I think the news (Irrfan is suffering from a condition called Neuroendocrine Tumour and is currently out of the country for treatment) came as a shock to all of us. Initially, we didn’t think it was that serious, but after his tweet, things became clearer to us. It’s a film that’s very close to his heart and to not be a part of it in the last leg of the journey is not something he’s feeling very good about. It would have been something else to have him around and promote the film with us. 

With Pink and Indu Sarkar behind you, how are you choosing your roles now?

I’ve always been quite selective, in my own capacity. But with every film, I am growing as an actor as well as a person. And my choices reflect that. I will pick films on the basis of how exciting they sound to me and what kind of growth they offer to me as an actor. The main thing would be to not repeat any of my characters. It just bores me to even think of repeating anything that I’ve played before. 

Better roles are definitely being written for female actors… 

I think better scripts are being written. The moment you write a good story, you will start doing justice to your characters, male or female. But it’s not that we didn’t write good stories before… the black and white era had some beautiful stories, many of which are my favourites. There were films where women played pivotal roles. With the digital platform coming in, there’s huge competition in terms of what one can offer that’s different from the rest. Less and less people are wanting to spend 500 bucks and go to a theatre to watch a movie that doesn’t make a difference to their lives. That’s pushing the industry to come up with better content. 

Are you doing anything in the digital space?

I am actually finishing a show for Amazon (Prime) called 4 More Shots Please, that’s being produced by Pritish Nandy Communications and directed by Anu Menon. It’s about four girls living in south Bombay… their bonding, their friendship, their love life, their sex life…. It’s a fun show. That’s my first in terms of the digital space. It should come out in October. I’m just experimenting with mediums — I have a couple of short films that will come out soon. 

I have my hands full and I am happy with what I am doing. There are a couple of films that will be announced soon. I have no complaints.

Is Team Pink in touch?

I met Tonyda (Pink’s director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) recently. He came home and we had dinner together. Vijay (Varma, who played Ankit) and I are in touch off and on… I went for the screening of his film Monsoon Shootout. Raashul (Tandon, who played Dumpy) messages sometimes… Taapsee (Pannu, who was Minal) and I haven’t connected in a while and Andrea (Tariang) is, I think, back in Shillong and doing her own thing. Taapsee, of course, is doing very well for herself. I haven’t really connected with Shoojit (Sircar, the film’s creative producer)… I watched the trailer of his new film October though. 

Do people still come and talk to you about Pink?

Absolutely! Pink really affected people and it still has a huge fan following. People still know me as Falak Ali from Pink than from any other film…. 

Do you like that or do you want to put that character behind you and move on?

I’m just moving from one film to another and doing what I can. It’s totally fine with me if people want to keep connecting me to Pink. That film has become a part of people’s consciousness and I am happy I was part of Pink.