Kritika Kamra’s stellar act in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Bambai Meri Jaan’ has been well appreciated by critics and audiences alike. She played Dara Kadri’s (Avinash Tiwary) sister Habiba Kadri in the 10-part crime drama series. Kamra’s character is fierce and feisty and she has pulled it off very well. Before the release of the show, Garima Das had a conversation with Kritika where she spoke in detail about her character in the series.
She said, “My character Habiba has two brothers and she is the youngest of them all, the only girl, the sister they have who is very much like one of them. She is quite confident and resourceful and she also knows how to handle a gun. She is somebody who is really independent but also like fiercely involved and invested in the family like all the other Kadris as well. So, what you get to see is Habiba is very different from the character I have played before. It’s different from my real personality and you kind of see the bond she shares with Dara, she is stubborn like her father, she recognises how the mother holds the family and household together and she is very ambitious and encouraging and almost in awe of what Dara does. So, you will see her journey also and also her choices that lean towards Dara’s choices in life and how she influences his decisions and actions throughout the season.”
Before foraying into the films and web space, Kritika started her career in television. She did successful shows like ‘Kitani Mohabbat Hai’, ‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’, ‘Reporters’, and ‘Prem Ya Paheli - Chandrakanta’ among others. Then she made her Bollywood debut with ‘Mitron’ in 2018 and then smoothly put her steps into OTT and did shows like ‘Tandav’, ‘Hush Hush’, etc.
While talking about her transition from the TV world to films and now OTT, Kritika admitted that there is no challenge in television and she said digital space is the best of both worlds- television and films.
She also admitted that she is getting more content-driven roles due to OTT. The actress added, “The quality of writing and making on OTT is different. I have been saying that OTT is the best of both worlds. You get the length of not television because you know television goes on for years and years and I have done that. It gives you a great period of time to work on your character and learn and portray different kinds of emotions. That’s the strength. But also what happens is that it’s really TRP-driven and after a point, I think it’s very hard to sustain for hundreds of episodes. That’s the limitation of television. That’s why there is no challenge in it and it doesn’t feel new.”
The ‘Bheed’ actress further said, “Whereas these web shows are like 8-10 episodes which are longer than a film but they are almost like three films in one because they are made with that kind of quality and detailing that films have and it’s also because all the great filmmakers are making stuff for the web. So, the language is very cinematic. At the same time, it’s longer than a film, so much easier and better for an actor to portray different shades of it and get into the skin of the character.”
“For me, OTT is the place where I have been getting the kind of work that I want to do. Films are so commerce driven and there are so many other factors when it comes to casting in films I guess. It’s easier in OTT. It has really opened up the platform for actors like me who want to do more than television and want to be actors across mediums. I am loving this opportunity and that’s why I feel this change has been good for me,” she signed off.
