Mumbai, Oct 24 (PTI) Bollywood star Kriti Sanon says she was thrilled to finally share significant screen time with senior actor Kajol in her upcoming movie "Do Patti".
The mystery thriller film, which also marks Kriti's production debut, features her in a dual role alongside Kajol. It is their second collaboration after "Dilwale" in 2015.
The actor said she was glad to share some "meaty scenes" with Kajol, something they couldn't do when they worked on "Dilwale", which was directed by Rohit Shetty and also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Varun Dhawan.
"I was excited that finally, I will get to do some meaty scenes with her which I didn't get during 'Dilwale'. I feel she's just getting better and better in the way she looks and the way she is just on set.
"I love that it's always collaborative and we're discussing the scene and she's really involved, whether it is helping you here and there or also patting on your back, which means a lot coming from her. I had a blast and was like, 'Oh my God, I'm finally getting to do this'," Kriti told PTI in an interview.
Kajol said she couldn't get to know Kriti during the making of "Dilwale" as they didn't have too many scenes together.
"This was quite a welcome surprise. She has definitely grown and you can see that from 'Dilwale' to here, it's been quite a journey picking up a National Award along the way as well. So, it's been a wonderful experience to watch that," the actor said.
Written by Kanika Dhillon and directed by debutant Shashanka Chaturvedi, "Do Patti" revolves around twin sisters and a determined police inspector (played by Kajol) who is investigating a case of an attempted murder in the fictional town of Devipur, Uttarakhand.
Kriti said Kajol's cop character serves as the "moral compass" of the story and through her eyes, the mystery gets unravelled.
"She's the one sort of narrating this story and through her you get to know bits and parts of the story. It's like this really strong character. I feel like she comes with so much of gravity and just credibility, the performer that she is," she added.
Asked why it took her a long time to play a cop on screen, Kajol said she was waiting for the right project to come along.
"I have been offered cop roles before, but I always felt it was not something that could be taken lightly. It had to be a really good script for me to accept it.
"Somehow, something just didn't gel right. Sometimes the script was not good enough, or the director and producer were not great. I felt that if I'm doing something, then I have to do it well, and put in your 300 per cent...So, yes, I did take a long time to do it and I felt that the script was the right one for it," Kajol said.
It is for the time that Kriti is playing a double role in a movie and the actor said the challenge was to figure out a way to make them feel different.
"It was fun because as an actor, suddenly, you're getting to play two characters in one film itself. That doesn't happen often. And how do you make those characters different? Of course, they're written differently, but there's stuff that you can add.
"They don't talk differently in terms of dialect as they're sisters, they're born and brought up in the same environment... And a lot of my scenes had another me in it. So that technically gets challenging but interesting," she said.
Kajol, who has twice played a double role in her career -- "Dushman" (1998) and "Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi" (2001) -- said Kriti's portrayal of twin sisters in "Do Patti" was more challenging.
"A double role in this film is very different. 'Dushman' had scenes but not as many of them together. The two sisters were seen less together in the movie. But in 'Do Patti', the two sisters are together for 70 per cent of the film.
"So for her, it's a very technically challenging aspect of playing a double role. You're playing two characters. You are reacting to yourself... And everything has to be just perfect. She rose up to the challenge quite wonderfully," she added.
"Do Patti" marks the start of Kriti's producing journey as she has backed the movie through her banner Blue Butterfly Films alongside fellow first-time producer Dhillon of Kathha Pictures.
While on set, Kriti said she prioritised her role as an actor.
"I don't really come out as a producer on set. For me, producing this was more about creatively being involved in every aspect of it, which I got to do and I'm very happy about it," she said.
Kriti is not the first female star to turn producer in recent times. Besides her, Alia Bhatt, who shared the National Award for best actor with Kriti, as well as actors Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, Taapsee Pannu and Richa Chadha have taken a plunge into the producing world as well.
Asked how she sees the trend of female actors turning producers in the Hindi film industry, Kajol said it is a step in the right direction.
"It's a natural evolution for every actor to want to eventually do something more than just act. And turning producer on films that they believe in makes a difference and says something about what they want to represent in society as well.
"That's where women are standing up and saying that, you know, just labelling me as an actor or as a working woman is not enough. I will break this label and I will stand up and I will be whatever I want to be without you putting any kind of a label on me," she said.
Also featuring TV star Shaheer Sheikh in his film debut along with Tanvi Azmi and Brijendra Kala, "Do Patti" will premiere on Netflix on Friday.