Candid With Kriti

After a decade of flirting with fame, the stars have aligned for Kriti Sanon. But under the gilded glory of this cosmic shower, she is clinging on to a "happy, restless" state of mind, finds Hasina Jeelani

- Hasina Jeelani

It is a life come full circle moment. Kriti Sanon is leaning forward and tearing a doughy slice of pizza when she catches the eye of her lunch partner on the sets of Crew (2024): Kareena Kapoor Khan. The same Kapoor Khan whose iconic lines from Jab We Met (2007) she had once fervently mouthed to herself while waiting in labyrinthine queues on the audition circuit. The same Kapoor Khan who is now pertly arching a brow as she watches the caramelised ribbons of cheese trailing behind a slice of margherita. The challenge lingers unspoken in the air. Unfazed, she declares, “I won't feel guilty now about having one more because I'll be equal to Kriti.”

The empty boxes start piling up, and co-star Tabu audibly groans at the thought of having to hoist Sanon on her shoulders for the next scene. All is, however, forgiven till dusk rolls around, and they are dunking whole wheat biscuits into a steaming cup of chai. Onscreen, the trio has discovered gold ingots strapped to the body of a dying passenger. Offscreen, they have chanced upon a more rarefied form of gold: the opportunity to storm the boys’ club with a first-of-its-kind comic caper anchored around three ambitious flight attendants.