#Cinema
Interview By: Hugo Ribadeau Dumas
HELLO KANI. 2024 WAS QUITE A CRAZY YEAR FOR YOU. IS 2025 A LITTLE QUIETER?
Well, not really. The fourth season of the Hindi web series Maharani is about to drop, and I’ve just wrapped up shooting for an upcoming Hindi film. And there’s more on the way. But yes — for the first time in ages, I managed to stay home for a whole month, which was really nice [she flashes a huge smile].
WHAT KINDS OF ROLES DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY THE MOST?
I love comedy! Especially physical, slapstick comedy. I acted in the Hindi series OK Computer. My character, Monalisa, was super whimsical — it was a sci-fi comedy, totally crazy. So out-of-the-box that people either loved it or hated it [laughs]. But Monalisa is still my favourite character to date. I’d love to do more comedy. Recently, I really enjoyed Radhika Apte’s performance in Sister Midnight. It must have been so much fun to act in something like that.
“I’D LOVE TO DO MORE COMEDY. ESPECIALLY THE WHIMSICAL, SLAPSTICK KIND. THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE ROLES”
“THEATRE TAUGHT ME PHYSICALITY. I FOLLOW MY INSTINCT — I ALLOW MY BODY TO REACT.”
HOW HAS THEATRE SHAPED YOUR CRAFT AS AN ACTRESS?
I haven’t performed in a play for the last four years — sadly, it’s hard to find the time. But theatre is still very much with me. It’s my foundation. Theatre taught me physicality. To portray a character, I rely a lot on physical expression and playfulness. Some actors prefer to get into the psychology of the character. I prefer to follow my instinct — I allow my body to react. That approach comes directly from my theatre school.