Catching the light

Kirti Kulhari's roles shine no matter how small the part, or the screen. But they hide years of darkness, fighting demons and learning to let go. See how she draws strength from sensitivity

- Karishma Kuenzang

By her own admission, Kirti Kulhari, 38, was a hypersensitive child. "I would sulk in a corner if someone said something mean. My relatives would pass comments about how I keep crying."

Kulhari was in Class 7 when a teacher accused her of using her tears "as weapon". That a statement formed a core memory. Emotions are powerful tools, she's come to learn. They can make you feel things. And when expressed right, they can make viewers feel things too.

Kulhari's acting career spans 13-odd years. She made her debut in the comedy Khichdi: The Movie (2010), playing Pammi, a much-jilted bride who finally gets hitched. She's best known for playing Anjana in Four More Shots Please! (2019-), who walks out of a bad marriage and faces life as a single mom. In the courtroom drama, Pink (2011), she's Falak, a young Faridabad professional who pays the price after her roommate attacks a sexual assaulter. In the black comedy Blackmail (2018), she's the woman cheating on her husband, prompting him to plot revenge.

Kulhari excels at playing a kind of everywoman caught in a bad situation. She doesn't always get the soliloquies, the zinger dialogues. But audiences come away remembering her quiet courage.

"I am the character. I live every moment they do on screen," Kulhari says. "But it doesn't mean that I need to feel that pain myself to portray it. That distance is something I have created." That process of detachment has been slow, hard-won, and has come with tears of its own.

Breaking point