“I am a girl’s girl”: Kritika Kamra on friendships, marriage, and making space for women’s stories

For someone who has quietly built one of the industry’s most interesting careers, Kritika Kamra still carries herself with the kind of grounded honesty that instantly puts you at ease. Over the years, she has seamlessly moved from television fame to the big screen and layered OTT roles, consistently choosing characters that feel real, flawed, and emotionally textured rather than simply glamorous.

With her latest release, Matka King, she steps into a smoky, dangerous world driven by ambition, money, and power, playing a woman drawn to risk and independence in ways that keep surprising you. It’s the kind of role that feels perfectly aligned with the space Kamra has carved for herself today: thoughtful, self-assured, and completely unafraid of complexity.

Off-screen, too, Kamra has entered a new chapter. Fresh off her wedding to Gaurav Kapur, she opens up about love, female friendships, and building a partnership rooted in equality. In conversation with Cosmopolitan India, the actor gets candid about relationships, ambition, the evolving landscape of cinema, and the stories that continue to shape her.

Cosmopolitan India: In Matka King, you’re part of a gritty, period crime world. What drew you to this story, and how did you build your character in this universe?

Kritika Kamra: Anything that involves money or a common man's journey of making it big is always interesting to watch because we like to see stories that are written around hope. So I was quite hooked when I read the script. I was drawn to my character, particularly because I thought she was very interesting. She has multiple layers. She is somebody who comes from privilege but gets attracted to this dangerous world, and in that, she somehow finds agency and independence by introducing the game to her section of society. The fact that my character is a direct part of the plot is what made it stand out for me.

CI: Having studied fashion yourself, how does fashion play a role in how you approach your characters?

KK: I didn't finish my course. I was studying fashion communication, but I dropped out after my first semester and started acting. But I do have an inclination towards fashion. I'm a fashion enthusiast! The nitty-gritty of fashion, construction of design, and styling have always attracted me. With each character, you get to craft a persona, and I make sure that the persona is not like me in real life. Especially with Matka King, it's been a fulfilling experience because this is a period drama. We were working with the '60s and '70s style, and that's a fashion favourite era. We had a lot of fun looking at some legendary actresses of the time, the fashion magazines from back then, and real footage of people at the Mahalakshmi Racecourse or at jazz clubs in South Bombay to put together a wardrobe for my character.

CI: You’ve been in the industry long enough to see it evolve from TV dominance to OTT boom. What’s one change you’ve loved, and one you’re still unsure about?

KK: It's heartening to see the difference in the portrayal of women on screen. On television, there is a certain template that I tried to stay away from, but there's only so much you can do that way. I've seen the traditional portrayal of the hero, heroine, and villain, and women always being the moral compass or the damsel in distress in a man's story. But now, because of OTT, we have female characters with multiple layers. These are complex women. They are not one-note characters, and they are not just confined to what they mean to the male protagonist. I still think we have a long way to go. We need more women's stories to be told. We have a lot of stories that we haven't even tapped into. And the budgets of female-centric projects are not as good as those of mainstream cinema. But I hope that gets better.

CI: You’ve always kept your personal life relatively private. What made you feel ready to share your relationship before you got married to Gaurav Kapur, and how did that shift feel?

KK: I have been very private. In fact, both Gaurav and I are private people, and we continue to be so even after the wedding. Of course, the wedding was all over social media, but we didn't think that it would get so much attention. It was after some time of dating and of really being sure of each other that I decided to share a post on Instagram. Because I didn't want to announce it with the wedding picture straight away. I thought, “Why not?” There wasn't really a conscious effort to hide anything ever. I always said that I would share it when I knew that this was for life, and when I had that, there wasn't a lot of thinking or discussion involved. It was just one fine day. 

CI: What’s one relationship rule you swear by, and one you think is completely overrated?

KK: The one rule that I swear by is to be able to resolve conflict. It's different for each person, for each couple. Conflict resolution is a marker of a healthy relationship. And that's something that does not naturally come to people. It comes from understanding the other person and what they need and actually listening. There is always going to be conflict. It's about how you resolve it and what you do after that that counts.

One thing that I think is overrated is the whole idea of “If my partner loves me, he will…” or “I must have the password to his devices and access to his messages.” Somehow, people think it is some sign of loyalty. I believe in having an independent life, and the same goes for him.

CI: One of the cutest moments from your wedding was all your girlfriends wearing sarees from your brand and being by your side. What do female friendships mean to you?

KK: I am a girl's girl. I wouldn't be anything without my female friendships. My female friendships carry me. One of the first things I started doing when we decided to get married was getting these sarees from my own brand, Cinnabar. We sourced the fabric from Chanderi. I wanted about 16 of them for my favourite girls. So I started collecting these ivory and gold sarees because I thought that everybody should own a classic ivory and gold Chanderi, my favourite colour combination. I really enjoyed that process of picking the sarees. They were chosen based on whatever I know about my girls, their taste, their personality, etc. It was my way of doing something for them that was personal. Once I had them, I packed them, wrote a note, and sent them to each person, asking them if they'd want to wear them, and of course, everyone was quite excited. They all really liked their sarees, and they styled them in their own unique ways, and it meant a lot to me.

CI: How do you romanticise your everyday life when things get stressful or overwhelming?

KK: I am a big movie buff. For somebody who's not really so much of a romantic, I am a big cinephile. I don't watch things for entertainment or in the background. I am not a second-screen watcher. I am somebody who really immerses herself in stories. I find my solace in stories. That's my escape. So, if things are not going my way in life, I just escape it by putting on a comfort watch, or I find something new to watch and completely immerse myself in that journey. I go and research everything about it, read about it, and watch all the interviews...I am a nerd like that! I am constantly finding new things to watch that invigorate me, and that's my favourite way to get away from real life, even if it is for a bit!

Lead image: Hardly Anonymous Communications

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