Actress Kritika Bharadwaj, best known for her performance as Simran in the Netflix series Mismatched, is still processing her feelings about her big-screen debut in Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Yodha, produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. The Lucknow girl talked to us about playing a trainee pilot in Yodha, switching to acting from being a casting assistant and how Mismatched changed things for her.

How did you land the role in Yodha?

Kritika Bharadwaj: I auditioned for it like any other actor in Mumbai does. Yodha’s casting director Panchami Ghavri had also done the casting for Mismatched (Netflix). So, she knew me from before but her team sent me this email mentioning the part and that it was a Dharma Productions film. They had asked me to send a self-test (audition) as studio auditions were not happening because of COVID-19. I’m talking about June 2021.

I recorded and sent the audition and forgot about it because there are so many auditions that you give. If you keep thinking about them, you’re going to go mad. And then I had to start shooting Mismatched Season 2. I went to Rajasthan and I was shooting and chilling over there.

Around late September or early October, I got a call from Panchmi’s team about the audition. I couldn’t quite remember what the audition was. My audition scene was my first scene in the film with Chittranjan Tripathy sir. They said that the directors wanted to meet me and do a couple of scenes with me. Once I came back to Bombay after my shoot, I met Sagar Ambre (director), who directed me and we did two-three scenes with a couple of variations. I went back home not expecting anything at all.

A couple of days later, I got a call from Panchami’s team saying that they wanted to lock me for a part. I said, ‘Wait, I’m not going to be able to process it! I need to sit down.’ Sagar and co-director Pushkar Ojha wanted to meet me again. When I met them, they told me that I was locked for the role of trainee pilot Tanya. I’m still processing it. It’s been surreal.

Did getting cast for a film produced by Karan Johar feel like a validation of sorts that you belong to a bigger stage?

Kritika Bharadwaj: Validation? Maybe. I haven’t thought of it like that. I’m just feeling so grateful more than anything. I’m still not able to believe that this is happening. Even after so many days of the release, I’m getting comments and people tagging me mentioning my name and my character from the film is something that I did not expect.

I go anywhere with zero expectations, so anything nice that happens is going to be up there. Right? That’s how I like to process my victories. Also, Yodha was supposed to have been released long back. I had forgotten most of the film and I did not know what was going to be in the film and what was going to be edited out.

After watching it, of course, it felt very nice because I saw that Tanya is a crucial part and it’s not been edited out much. That felt amazing. Validation, maybe. That’s a byproduct. More than anything, being able to see myself on a big screen with my parents watching and being proud and teary-eyed was all the validation I needed, honestly.

Did you have to undergo any training to play a trainee pilot?

Kritika Bharadwaj: Learning the technical terms was a challenge. But I was constantly like I need to be ready with my lines so that that’s not a problem. In case of queries, I asked Sagar as he had done a lot of research as well as written the script. He knew everything. He helped me a lot. He used to give me these plane simulation games to play as homework. I used to do that. He also explained to me the technicalities of the cockpit.

I started shooting Yodha three days after finishing Mismatched Season 2 and did not have a lot of time to prep. But we shot it linear, so it organically fell into place. It wasn’t like I had to shoot a chaotic scene on my first day of shoot. It was comfortable and easy. My directors were super nice. They made me feel very secure, told me not to worry and explained everything to me nicely.

Sidharth Malhotra and Kritika Bharadwaj on the sets of Yodha

What was your first day of shoot with Sidharth Malhotra like? Your first scene with him in the film is quite interesting.

Kritika Bharadwaj: When I meet Sid for the first time in the film, there is this awkwardness and cold-shoulder situation from both sides. That also worked because I did not know Sid at all before that. My first interaction with him was on my first day of the shoot. Eventually, we warmed up and then we started doing things together in the film. So, shooting it linear made a lot of sense.

When Siddharth and Disha Patani are in combat mode in the cockpit, you are trying to pivot the plane. Tell us some anecdotes from the shoot.

Kritika Bharadwaj: I had to just sit there and see them do amazing action. It was just perks for me. And they were so good with their action and in their coordination. They used to rehearse before. The action director Craig Macrae and his action team were on their toes. They would barely have to do many takes.

You have worked as a casting assistant too. How did that happen?

Kritika Bharadwaj: I started acting in college. I studied at Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University, and was part of the theatre circuit of Delhi University. I always knew that it’s hard to make it in the industry. I have done a course in direction and I write as well. I told myself that if I don’t make it as an actor, writing and direction are other choices that I have. But I wanted to be a part of the industry because I wanted to do creative things. That’s what makes me happy.

I started assisting casting director Kavish Sinha. I worked with him for a year and then I got locked for Mismatched, although it was a different casting director. That’s when I left casting for good. Eventually, maybe I’d like to write and direct too. But right now, my focus is on acting.

Did Rishabh Sawhney, who played the main villain in Fighter, also work alongside you as a casting assistant under Kavish Sinha?

Kritika Bharadwaj: Yes. I was assisting Kavish first and then Rishabh came in and joined us for a while. We’ve been really good friends since then. But yeah, he has done his first major film and that’s also insane. I’m so proud of him.

How did two seasons of Mismatched change things for you?

Kritika Bharadwaj: Mismatched changed a lot of things for me. The major audience of Mismatched are young teenagers. Anywhere I would go in the country, people would just spot me as Simran — that’s my character’s name in the show. I remember shooting for Rashmi Rocket in Ranchi, and kids would come running to me and say, Simran, Simran, Simran. That was something that I was witnessing for the first time.

Mismatched changed a lot of things for me in terms of like when you tell somebody that you’ve done a massive show on Netflix, they take you seriously. People know that you must be doing something right for you to have landed a role in a show like Mismatched, which was one of the biggest shows of Netflix India. I got a lot of auditions after that.

What kind of auditions did you get called for after Mismatched?

Kritika Bharadwaj: I started getting tested for lead parts. Nobody would test me for lead parts earlier, but after Mismatched, people wanted to test me for lead parts, primary parts and bigger roles. I wanted to do roles that were as good as the Mismatched role or better than that, for sure.

What are the ways for an aspiring actor to meet the right people to get a break in the industry?

Kritika Bharadwaj: If you’re trying to make it as an actor in this industry, then you should know about the big casting directors like Panchami Ghavri, Mukesh Chhabra, Nandini Shrikent, Kavish Sinha, and Jogi Mallang to name a few, who have been casting for years.

For me what worked was working as a casting assistant. Because as a casting assistant, you are constantly polishing your acting chops. When you’re cueing actors, you’re constantly reading and understanding scripts. And the way every actor does an audition scene, it can tell you how it can be played differently from what you thought.

You’re talking to directors and production houses, and negotiating terms and monies. I did not have a management team for the longest time because I’ve done so much backend work that I felt that nobody could negotiate things for me better than myself.

Also, you need to understand that giving a good audition does not mean that you will get the part. Also, not getting the part does not mean that you did not give a good audition. There are just so many things that go on in the background and so many layers of approvals that have to happen for you to be able to do a show or a film. I learned a lot about that and it helped me not get upset if I didn’t get locked in for a role. I’m so glad that Kavish told me, ‘Just move to Bombay and work with me.’ It really helped me.