After tasting success with shows such as "Four More Shots Please!" and "Criminal Justice", actor Kirti Kulhari says she has decided to take a break from OTT and focus her energies on feature films.
She came to the OTT space to fulfil her creative ambitions, said the actor, who has also appeared in series such as "Bard of Blood" and "Human".
"I need to do something that really pushes me, excites me, I haven't really felt that coming in films for me. OTT was happening and it was doing so much for me and there was so much to speak about. But this year I have consciously started focusing on films and have taken a little break from series," Kulhari told PTI in an interview.
The 37-year-old actor made her acting debut with 2010 film "Khichdi: The Movie" and rose to prominence with "Pink", followed by "Blackmail", "Mission Mangal", "Uri: The Surgical Strike" and "The Girl on the Train".
Earlier this year, she announced the launch of her production house Kintsukuroi Films. Her first project as a producer is the dark comedy "Nayeka", in which she also plays the lead role.
Kulhari’s latest appearance is in the third season of her hit Prime Video series "Four More Shots Please!". The International Emmy-nominated show has changed the trajectory of her career, the actor said.
"It really opened a lot of doors for me. It made people see me in a different light, which is good for an actor. The fact that the show was well received and there were more seasons, the popularity of the character grew more."
Created by Rangita Pritish Nandy and produced by Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd, the show's third season started streaming on Prime Video from Thursday.
Kulhari believes "Four More Shots Please!" has broken many barriers as it dealt with women and their issues in a unique way.
"It is really kind of a torchbearer of chick flicks, especially when it comes to talking about women's issues in its own glamourous, fun, fluffy way," she said.
Due to OTT, the actor said, there has been a surge in people talking about different subjects, through different people and representation.
"There are so many women-led films and series on OTT that make you believe that this is the change that really is here to stay and truly change something about how we portray women, the kind of stories we tell about women and how society in general perceives women," Kulhari said.
Through "Four More Shots Please!", the actor said the goal is to show that women can have a life and the freedom to make their own choices.
"We inspire and empower women by showing them that you deserve... Even though you might be messed up or are imperfect, you deserve the best in life and no one else but you need to get it.
"We also talk about sisterhood, female bonding, friendship and how as women we need to support, stand up and empower each other."
The third season was one of the challenging chapters to shoot, said Kulhari, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic hampered her rhythm to play the character of Anjana once again.
"It has been a long gap since we finished season two. The whole gap, the pandemic, the unpredictable conditions, it just made it quite difficult and challenging to shoot this season.
"It broke the rhythm that everybody was expecting to get into, it never got established. That made it more difficult for me to keep going back to it again and again," she added.
"Four More Shots Please!" is about four friends played by Kulhari, Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo and Bani J and their relationships, work-life conflicts, ambitions, and anxieties in a male-dominated modern-day India.
Kulhari said she might not have been "best of friends" with her co-stars but she deeply respects each one of them and over the years they have understood one another better.
"There are days when we get along and there are days when we don't. That is far more honest than people saying or trying to be like everything is perfect and we are great," she added.
Actors Jim Sarbh, Rohan Mehra, Shilpa Shukla and Sushant Singh are the new entrants in the third season, which will also see the return of Prateik Babbar, Lisa Ray, Neil Bhooplam, Rajeev Siddharth, Amrita Puri, Simone Singh and Samir Kochhar.
"Four More Shots Please!" is directed by Joyeeta Patpatia and written by Devika Bhagat with dialogues by Ishita Moitra.
