Exclusive | Krithi Shetty Confirms Bollywood Debut, Talks 'Love Insurance Kompany': 'Situationships Vs. Old-School Romance'

When Krithi Shetty’s character was introduced to audiences in 'Dheema,' the first single from Love Insurance Kompany in October ‘24, expectations were at an all-time high.

Shetty was riding high on the success of her Malayalam debut ARM with Tovino Thomas, which became a blockbuster, and LIK would see her team up with hit machine Pradeep Ranganathan, director Vignesh Shivan and composer Anirudh Ravichander in an ingenious sci-fi rom-com set in 2040; she couldn’t have been more thrilled.

But both of Shetty’s next Tamil films were delayed due to multiple reasons and the actor didn’t have a release in 2025. Undeterred, she kept up public appearances and promotions with a smile on her face; this year, Vaa Vaathiyar finally saw a Pongal release, while LIK is set to hit screens on April 10.

Ahead of the film, Shetty talks to us about what to expect from Love Insurance Kompany, her take on modern love, her directorial aspirations, and upcoming Bollywood debut.

Tell us about LIK; what was Vignesh Shivan’s pitch to you and how did you come on board?

So we started filming about two years ago. But since the film is based in the future, they had to do a lot of pre-production before going on board. So they took about six months, and I was also doing Genie at that point. Thankfully, it all worked out by the time they were ready.

How it started is basically Vignesh Shivan sir narrated the film, and I think it’s one of the quickest yeses that I’ve ever said! When we started discussing everything about the film, it was such a cute story and very relatable.  It was very interesting to see how he has explored these themes in a way that will really make you think and connect to your real life. Even 10 years ago, some of the things we do today would have sounded bizarre… but now it’s relevant. Like, we didn’t think we’d be taking pictures of everything we eat, right? But now it’s such a normal thing. If you don’t post it on Instagram, you feel like you’re missing out. All these things we’ve explored, which I think people will really connect to.

From what we understand, the film is set in the future where love can be professionally insured, but the lead pair’s relationship poses a threat to this methodology. Is that the core theme?

I can neither confirm or deny this! (laughs) Okay, I’m not sure I can put it like that exactly, but from the teaser you can see how I use all these terms like evolutionship, cuffing, breadcrumbing, benching, textationship.. and so on. Even now, situationships are a huge thing. But 15 years into the future, situationships will be totally normalised, and there will be various other new things in love. 

But there are people who will always believe in that old-school idea of romance; how that clashes with others' perception of it, and whether they will still be interested in the traditional ideas of love is what makes up the core idea of the film.

As someone from Gen Z, what is your personal take on modern love today?

Personally, being very frank, I decided to stay single because I believe in a very old-school type of love.

In fact, the reason I did my first film Uppena (2021) is because it delves into a similar kind of equation between the lead pair. I grew up watching a lot of 80s and 90s movies because my dad is a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan sir; the kind of love and songs we had back then  were so pure and stereotypically old-school, and that’s what I still adore.

For me to connect to this generation is a little difficult in terms of how fast people are to move on. Maybe in five or ten years, I see myself ending up with someone who has a similar ideology... who still believes in a very sweet, old-fashioned type of love.

How did you prep to play your character of Dheema in LIK?

As an actor, I like to be very prepared. I’m a very hands-on person; I love researching and exploring a lot of things.

But when it came to working with Vignesh sir, he had such a specific idea of what Dheema was going to be like. No matter how much I prepared, he would still push me more. That actually made me happier, because whenever a director has a very specific vision, it helps you be better.

By the end of it, I just knew I could switch on and become Dheema at will. A lot of people told me the character was very consistent, and that’s because of how much effort we put in to make it look effortless.

You’ve said you’d like to become a filmmaker someday. Did working on a film like this influence that ambition?

I would definitely like to explore it. But right now, I still have so much passion for acting. In the past year, I’ve taken a lot of training, met acting gurus, and worked on exercises and advice. I’m still waiting to get a variety of roles where I can really showcase myself as a performer.

Hopefully in 10 years, when I understand my strengths even better, I could write and direct a story.. maybe like Phoebe Waller-Bridge did Fleabag!

You’ve been part of big-budget projects like Shyam Singha Roy, The Warriorr and ARM.. and also the smaller romances like Manamey and now LIK. How do you make these choices in a time and age when box-office success is analysed so much?

I think it always has to be the perfect balance of both. I’m really inspired by actors who are versatile. Whether it’s more screen time or less isn’t important… as long as the character has impact and allows me to showcase a new shade.

My biggest inspiration as an actor is Sridevi ma’am. She embodied so many different kinds of roles so gracefully and effortlessly, and was just a perfect performer. Whether it was a commercial film or something like Sadma, she could do it all. Even in her late 30s, she could bring that innocence of hers to any role. That’s a gift, but also a skill you need to work on.

There’s also talk about your Bollywood debut..

Yes, that is something you can look forward to. I’m a Bombay girl and I predominantly speak Hindi, so I’m really excited about working in Bollywood soon.

In Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, I’ve had to learn the language, understand meanings, and even memorise my co-actors’ lines to react naturally. Actor Emma Watson once said that they had to do retakes because she kept mouthing her co-actors’ dialogues; I feel the same way as I can actually remind my colleagues what their next line is supposed to be! In Hindi, I wouldn’t have to do that, because I grew up speaking the language.

Are you also part of Anil Ravipudi’s next with Venkatesh and Kalyan Ram?

That I can only smile at.. but I can confirm that I have finished Genie (with Ravi Mohan). The film is in post-production, so they’ll be making an announcement very soon.

Looking back at your last release Vaa Vaathiyar, what was your biggest takeaway?

At the end of the day, since I had a very good experience working on the film, I still have great feelings attached to it.

I feel like staying successful in the industry is also about going through failures gracefully. Failures teach you a lot more than success. It’s about going back, watching the film, and seeing what you could have done better… especially in terms of script selection.