Kirti Kulhari Says 'Badass Ravi Kumar' Helped Her Break Free: People Are Shocked, In Both Good And Bad Ways

Kirti Kulhari laughs when one notes how her decision to star in Badass Ravi Kumar has surprised people, "Actually, they are shocked, in both ways good and bad," the actor smiles.

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Kulhari is not new to juggling varied cinematic worlds. She debuted with the comedy Khichdi: The Movie (2010) and followed it up with the acclaimed Anurag Kashyap-backed Shaitaan (2011). For every Pink (2016) and Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (2020), there were more popular outings with Mission Mangal (2019) and Four More Shots Please! (2019).

But the latest Himesh Reshammiya movie —the trailer of which was an instant hit on the Internet with catchy one-liners— is a genre she has never attempted before: a big-scale, high-octane, action spoof.

Kulhari, who just last month featured in the ZEE5 Original Hisaab Barabar with R Madhavan, says 2025 has started on a good "balancing" note for her.

"Badass Ravi Kumar is a deviation from what I do as an actor, while Hisaab Barabar was a reminder of what I am known for. So, it is a good balance. With Badass... there are people who are shocked in a good way that I am coming up with something unexpected and new. But some are shocked in a bad way, thinking, 'What has happened to her? We thought that she does only meaningful stuff?'"

Over the last decade, Kulhari has built a brand for herself starring in "sensible" films and streaming shows. The "serious" actor image, she says, has been one of the reasons why the audience was stumped. 

"Badass Ravi Kumar is a hardcore commercial film, which people didn't see coming from me; that's why people don't know how to take it. They are wondering if I did the film in some majboori  (compulsion). But I did the film because otherwise I would have taken myself too seriously."

The actor says if a script like Badass Ravi Kumar had come her way two years ago, she would have politely turned it down, for the fear of being judged for her choice. 

"A part of me would have been very scared of the judgment around it; but today, that's exactly the reason I did it—because I didn't see myself in this. I want to break this idea in my head and break free from my own limitations."

And what led to this change? Kulhari's answer finds roots in her becoming more "strengthened" in her position as an actor. After 15 years of being in films, she describes her current phase as a mix of "freedom and courage". 

"I am becoming a bolder, freer person... chopping my hair, turning a biker, or doing this film.. it is all a step in the same direction."

What is a "deviation" for the audience — to see the actor in the campy set-up of Badass Ravi Kumar—was also a challenge for her to pull off. Kulhari notes that the sets of Badass Ravi Kumar, for instance, was wholly different from that of a Pink.

So, even for a seasoned actor like her, it took time to figure out how to "do it right". What helped was her on-set meeting with veteran actor Sanjay Mishra, who has comfortably straddled the world of "serious" as well as commercial films.

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"I confided in him that I was quite nervous on how to go about it. He told me, 'Just go and have fun, and you will figure it out.' That made sense because my way of working is to be subtle and realistic, but in the world of this particular film, I had to use a different meter of acting and dialogue delivery. There is a cinematic language you need to learn for such films."

"When Himesh gave me a narration, there were a few 'filmy' dialogues that made me wonder if I can even say those lines with conviction! It was a challenge and that's where I had to find the conviction. If you don't want to do the film, say no, but if you are saying yes to it, just do it the correct way in which it's supposed to be done. You can't be judgemental about it," she concludes.