IN HER Element

Actor, producer and fashion muse, with a successful business to boot: Kriti Sanon is entering an era of her own.

- BY SANJANA RAY

ASK KRITI SANON to describe herself, and she'll say she's a nerd with a knack for asking the right question at the right time.

"I think my curiosity has led me to good places," the actor tells me when we reconnect on a Zoom call a week after we met at a GQ event in Mumbai. There, she cut a striking figure in an Atsuko Kudo Couture latex gown and pointed black stilettos that made her tower over everyone in the room.

At 35, that curious mind, bolstered by her near-perfect looks, shapes her filmography and her evolution as an actor. From Bareilly Ki Barfi and Mimi to Do Patti, Crew, and most recently Tere Ishk Mein, her choices resist easy categorisation. A National Award for her performance in Mimi in 2023 validated over a decade of hard work. That same year, she launched her production house, Blue Butterfly Films, and ventured into entrepreneurship with her skincare brand Hyphen, which has, in three short years, achieved a cult-like following. More recently, Sanon has sharpened her presence on the global fashion circuit: from a bold reinterpretation of Burberry's iconic trench at London Fashion Week to turning showstopper for designer Manish Malhotra at Dubai Fashion Week.

The connecting thread is clear: control, precision and intent. "It has been a process of gradual growth, shaped by calculated risks and more intentional choices... I have earned every opportunity; nothing has been handed to me," she says.

You have an unmissable presence. You're exceptionally tall, and I love that you own it and don't shy away from it. Do you think this intimidates men—especially male costars?