DNA: All good men are taken- Kratika

'All good men are taken'

...Rues Kritika Sengar, who has asked her mother to find Mr Right

An Ekta Kapoor discovery, Kratika Sengar started her acting career with Kasauti Zindagi Kay playing P2 aka Prerna of GenNext. Though she acted in a couple of serials after that, it was only after she played the fiesty Rani Laxmibai in the historical serial Jhansi Ki Rani, that Kratika hit big time. Her next role was again a breakaway from stereotype as she plays a single mother, a divorcee who goes in for a second marriage in Punarvivaah.

The beginning
It was on a lark that she did an acting assignment in her friend's documentary but it changed the course of advertising intern Kratika Sengar's career. "It was a showreel made by my friend who wanted to join Ekta Kapoor's company as an assistant. When she saw the documentary, Ekta liked me and cast me in her serial Kasauti Zindagi Kay," reveals Kratika, who till then had never thought of becoming an actor. She entered the serial as P2 after it took a leap. "I was shown as Shweta Tiwari's (She was the original Prerna) granddaughter but it wound up nine months after I made an entry," she reveals. After this she was roped in another of Ekta's show Kya Dil Mein Hai in which she did a parallel negative lead. This was followed by a reality show Kaun Jeetega Bollywood Ka Ticket but neither shows made any significant difference to her career.

Turning point
That's when she landed the title role in the historical Jhansi Ki Rani and Kratika was elated. "I never looked for conventional love stories. This was a costume drama, based on a personality we all know — when I was a kid I was very talkative and a fighter, so my mother would admonish me saying tum kya khudko Jhansi ki rani samajhti ho — so when I got this role I was overjoyed," says Kratika.
However, she had to wait a good 10 months before she could make an appearance. The child actress Ulka Gupta, who was playing Laxmibai had become so popular that the makers continued with her track for a longer period. "Finally, when I had to make an entry, there was tremendous pressure on me. People were sceptical about how I would be accepted because several historicals, that had gone in for a generation leap, till then, had to shut down after the character had grown-up." But Kratika's fiery Laxmibai got a thumbs-up from the viewers and the serial continued for over a year with her and proved to be a turning point in her career.

Going strong
Having learnt horse-riding, sword-fighting and malkhamb among other things for the role, Kratika wanted her next outing also to have her essaying a strong character. For six months after Jhansi Ki Rani, Kratika turned down every role that came her way because she was either not convinced about the story or her character. Then Punarvivaah came, dealing with an unusual subject of remarriage and to top it, she had to play mother of a six-year-old boy. "Playing a mother was not a concern — the serial was a clutter-breaker and that interested me. Divorce rates are going up and though we are not promoting that, we wanted people to think of re-living and taking a second chance at love. So, there is a strong love story also in the serial," says Kratika who initially was not overly fond of kids. "I never liked kids but with Ansh (her son in the serial) I got along instantly. We fight like cats and dogs and treat each other like girlfriend–boyfriend," laughs Kratika. But it's the chemistry with her co-star Gurmeet Choudhary that really became a talking point. "Gurmeet is a gentleman and a thorough professional. It was a challenge for us because Gurmeet's chemistry with Dhrasti Dhami (in Geet) had been appreciated while Sameer Dharmadhikari and I had a great equation in Jhansi... But people liked us together," smiles Kratika.
Ask her with whom does she share a good chemistry in real life and she says she is yet to find Mr Right. "I have no time for dating and all the good men I know are taken, so I have told my mother to scout for me," she grins.