Kriti Kharbanda: 'I wasn’t sure how my parents would react to my character in Rana Naidu 2'

Kriti Kharbanda

In the 12 days since the second season of Rana Naidu premièred, Kriti Kharbanda hasn't stopped smiling. Not only because the Netflix offering - starring Rana Daggubati and Venkatesh Daggubati - marks her maiden web series, but also because her parents have reacted warmly to it. "The character is so different from my personality that I wasn't sure how my parents would react to it. I don't connect to her on an emotional level except the fact that she is a woman trying to make her place in a man's world. But after the show released, the response has been amazing," she beams.

What makes Rana Naidu 2 all the more special is that it marks the actor's first project in the past four years. After 14 Phere (2021), she took a break from acting. Her reasons were simple - the offers coming her way weren't exciting, and she no longer felt the need to be seen everywhere. "I was feeling let down by what was coming my way. I want to feel excited when I go to work, otherwise it shows. I didn't want to work for the heck of it," she shares.

(From left) Kriti Kharbanda and Rana Daggubati in the show. Pics/X, Instagram

Taking a break in an industry that believes in the out-of-sight-out-of-mind philosophy can be a risk, but Kharbanda's choice was rooted in self-confidence. "I have been working since the age of 17, and hadn't taken a break because I felt I needed to be present everywhere. [I worried] that if I'm not in the right room, I'd miss an opportunity. That feeling comes from not being from the industry. You're trying hard to make a name for yourself. That hustle got to me eventually and I needed to reinvent myself."