The actor-turned-entrepreneur feels she is in the best phase of her career. Sanon hopes to inspire people to dream big
Kriti Sanon, Actor, Co-founder, Hyphen, The Tribe, and Blue Butterfly Films
Photography: Mexy Xaveir; Wardrobe: Joanna Andraos; Jewellery: Notandas Jewellers
Footwear: Christian Louboutin; Styled By: Anisha Jain; Assisted By: Naviksha Jain, Muskan Jain
In the middle of a meeting on a regular weekday, Kriti Sanon kept getting calls from an unknown number from Delhi. When she answered, the voice on the other side said Anurag Thakur, minister of information and broadcasting, would like to speak to her. He told Sanon, “You have won the National Award (Best Actress) for Mimi.†The actor could not believe it. “When I told my parents, I will never forget the pride I saw in their eyes, I think it was the best feeling ever,†she says.
After Mimi (2021), Sanon has been looking for roles that challenge her as an artiste with films like Bhediya, Ganapath and Adipurush. In the last year, she has expanded her horizons—winning her first National Award and launching a skincare brand, Hyphen. This year, she’s already had a release—Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya—with Shahid Kapoor that has worked well at the box office. She has two more films in the pipeline: Crew, co-starring Tabu and Kareena Kapoor Khan and the thriller Do Patti—which she has co-produced for Netflix—co-starring Kajol.
Since a young age, she recalls, “I have always wanted to give my 100 percent in whatever I do… I wanted to excel in it, if I didn’t, it bothered me.†She completed her BTech from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology. But while in her second year of college, she tried her hand at modelling. Soon, she started getting offers to work in television commercials. “That’s the first time I realised I enjoyed acting and being in front of the camera,†she says. At the time, she was a part of a commercial that filmmaker Shoojit Sircar was directing. “He asked me to work on my acting and try for films,†she recalls. That changed everything—“I decided I want to become an actor.â€
While her parents were supportive, they asked her to finish her BTech and have a plan B in case her acting career didn’t take off. “They were worried,†she says. “There is nothing secure about this profession. Everything changes every Friday, even after you are a part of the industry.†With dreams in her eyes, Sanon moved to Mumbai, but the initial days were tough. “I was giving multiple auditions, and then just waiting to hear from them. It was a phase where I didn’t know whether I will make it or not—and that was unsettling,†she says.
(This story appears in the 22 March, 2024 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)