Krithi Shetty embodies a spirit of kaizen and gratitude as she talks about her journey from Uppena (2021) to becoming one of the most sought-after actors in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Having made a splashing debut with the Buchi Babu Sana directorial, Krithi has gradually but steadily branched out into other industries. She will next be seen in Venkat Prabhu-Naga Chaitanya’s Telugu-Tamil bilingual, Custody.
Incidentally, this is her second such bilingual after Lingusamy’s The Warrior, where she starred opposite Ram Pothineni.
While Krithi reveals that she wasn’t cognisant of the parallels between Custody and The Warrior (bilinguals, Telugu co-star, Tamil director, cop dramas), there was a common sense of happiness about being associated with these projects.
In Custody, Krithi plays Revathi, who is the love interest of Naga Chaitanya’s Shiva, but the actor assures she is much more than just that.
“Revathi plays a big role in the proceedings and is ready to go to any extent for her love. I see the story of Shiva and Revathi as an ode to the romance of a bygone era. The purity of the love is reflective of the time Custody is set in, much like Sita Ramam.”
While Krithi’s stint in the Telugu film industry equipped her with a decent fluency in the language, her grasp of Tamil is still in the nascent stages. “I am currently learning the language from my dialogues. It is an ongoing process. I do want to act in more Tamil films, and fluency is crucial for emoting scenes effectively.”
Custody marks Krithi’s second collaboration with Naga Chaitanya after Bangarraju (2022), and she is all praises for her co-star.
“He is not only my favorite co-star, but he is also one of my favorite human beings. I admire how he tries to do something different with every film of his, and how he strives to constantly improve and evolve. I am also particularly inspired by his genuine nature, and our comfort level just got better in Custody. Our off-screen rapport came in handy while bringing to life Shiva and Revathi.”
While Krithi was off to an explosive start in 2021, she suffered major setbacks in 2022 with three of her films failing to make an impact. Reflecting on her failures with a tone of droll humility, Krithi says, “If only people knew the recipe for success. We are all trying to figure it out, one film at a time. I know that I have put in my 100 per cent, and I’m learning from every single experience of mine, good and bad. Learning and unlearning are very important for me.”
Krithi also notes that her path of learning is only enriched by the series of challenges she encounters with every new project.
“Before Custody, I didn’t do very realistic characters. It is a beautiful, unique role and I am very grateful to my director Venkat Prabhu for entrusting me with Revathi. It is not every day that you get such a role, and I really hope people enjoy watching me in the film,” signs off Krithi.