‘It felt like summer holidays at my grandparents’ house’: Kritika Kamra on shooting The Great Shamsuddin Family

IN a cinematic landscape painting progressively henpecked by surmount, spectacle and velocity, The Great Shamsuddin Family arrives like a quiet afternoon at home, unhurried, intimate and deeply familiar. At the centre of this gentle yet powerful narrative is Kritika Kamra as Bani, a character whose silences speak as loudly as her words.In an interview with Hindustan Times, Kritika Kamra opens up about the overwhelming audience response, her personal connection with Bani, the warmth of shooting the film like a real family, and why stories written by women inevitably carry a different emotional truth.Kritika Kamra on audience loveTalking about the overwhelming love received by the audience for her character in the film, she said. “My inbox is full of messages. Women are writing to me saying, ‘I saw myself in Bani.’ I have these really long messages where people are listing out scenes and moments and telling me, ‘This is exactly how I feel.’ That’s precisely what I felt when I read the script.”She adds that her connection with the character was instant. “When I read Bani, I connected with her frustration, her questions about belonging, and that constant sense of responsibility. She feels like she has to take care of everybody, but sometimes she just wants to be taken care of. I’m that elder daughter, that elder sister—someone everyone relies on for decisions. So every time Bani voiced those emotions, it felt very real to me.”Kritika talked about the environment on a set full of female actors and said, “It was very nice. Anusha and Dilip Shankar brought such wonderful people together—not just good actors, but genuinely good human beings. We were shooting in one house in Delhi, so it honestly felt like being on a family holiday.”Kritika recalls how the cast spent their days together, even off camera. “We would eat together, sit, laugh, sing songs. No one would go back to their vanity vans. Farida ji would tell us stories. It reminded me of summer holidays at our grandparents’ house, when all the cousins and massis would sit together. That same feeling.”Talking about sharing the screen with veterans like Farida Jalal and Sheeba Chaddha, Kritika revealed what she took away from that experience and said, “They have such incredible experience and are such great actors, yet they’re so easygoing and fun. Of course, they’re seniors, and we were very respectful, but it was never stiff or formal. Farida ji is exactly how she appears on screen, bubbly and endearing.”What impressed Kritika most was their work ethic. “That’s the thing about great people, they don’t tell you what to do, they show you how it’s done. Farida ji, at this age, is so flexible and patient, even with chaotic schedules and long hours. She doesn’t need to do it, she’s a superstar—but it’s her passion. Sheeba also brings immense sincerity, which is why her performances feel so truthful. Just watching them perform and observing their discipline teaches you more than any verbal advice ever could.”Kritika shared her views on whether Indian cinema's representation of women has improved and said, “This is women’s story told by a woman, that’s the difference. Our writer-director is a Muslim woman, and the story and relationships are inspired by her personal experiences. That’s why the characters feel so rounded.”She feels scripts like these are still rare. “I don’t know if things are getting better because I don’t get to read such scripts often. This was a rare one where the women weren’t caricatures or one-note. They’re layered, messy, imperfect. They’re not idealised or put on a pedestal. That happens when women write women.”While she believes men can write good female characters too, she adds, “You can’t compare it to when a woman writes women. In fact, even the men written by women are very attractive. If we see more female filmmakers, it creates a beautiful atmosphere altogether.”Kritik spoke about the long journey of the film and said, "Anusha had been trying to make this film for eight years. She had the story, but finding funding for a film like this isn’t easy—it’s not considered ‘safe’. Eventually, everything aligned. We finished shooting in just 22–23 days, in one go. This is probably the fastest release of my life. Usually, it takes years. The filming-to-release journey was short, but before that, she waited many, many years. I really hope there are more takers for films like these,” Kritika says. “We need small, intimate stories—a good old family drama that everyone can sit and watch together. Of course, big action films have their own place, but there’s a deep need for films like this. I personally crave such stories.”About The Great Shamsuddin FamilyThe comedy-drama film is written and directed by Anusha Rizvi. The film stars an ensemble cast including Kritika, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sheeba Chaddha, Farida Jalal and Purab Kohli. It premiered on JioHotstar on 12 December 2025.