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Created by Rensil D'Silva and Shujaat Saudagar, Bambai Meri Jaan premiered on September 14 on Amazon Prime Video a year ago. The period drama set in the 1960s and 1970s followed the Kadri family with police inspector Ismail (Kay Kay Menon) and his children Dara (Avinash Tiwary), Sadiq (Jitin) and Habiba, played by Kritika Kamra.
The series is inspired by Dawood Ibrahim's rise to power with Tiwary stepping up as the gangster. Kritika who plays Dara's beloved younger sister, has an interesting arc where she becomes his second in command. Kritika spoke about the show's first anniversary, her character Habiba, and why she wants to return for Season 2.
Kritika Kamra on Bambai Meri Jaan Season 2
In an interview withZoom, Kritika addressed fans’ wishes for another season. The actress said, “I know people are hoping. They keep writing in my comments, but I don’t know when that’s going to happen. I hope it does.”
The first season of the 10-episode series ends at a pivotal moment, with Dara leaving for Dubai and leaving Habiba in charge of the family, especially his parents who do not want to move. Kritika added, "It's a pretty critical juncture for my character as well. I love to explore more of that, but we don't know right now."
The actress shared that Habiba's own rise to power was plotted out from the beginning by the writers. The seeds were laid, but her ascension may also surprise a few viewers. Habiba is ambitious and idolises her brother Dara as a role model. Over the season, she becomes more fearless and even becomes strategic with previously cordial relationships.
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Kritika on the strong bond between Dara and Habiba
She also revealed that the second half of the season delved into Habiba’s complexities where her ambition came to the forefront. Habiba is also the only one that Dara listens to, especially after the death of their brother Sadiq. Kritika explained, “You can also see that she’s probably the only one now left who is capable of running [things] in his absence. He always reaches a point where his anger has reached [its] peak and he needs somebody to tip that over and that’s always the sister. She tells him to go get revenge, he burns the city down. They’re like soulmates in a strange way.”
Kritika on playing a grey character like Habiba
Kritika revealed that while she was excited to play Habiba, it was also nerve-wracking and challenging to take on as she is nothing like her. She said, "From the milieu to the era, to the city that she lived in, to the kind of a person that she is, to her morality, and most importantly, her sense of right and wrong. Her values are so different from mine that it took me quite some time to get into the head of that character and understand what drives her because it's my job as an actor to believe in what my character believes for at least that part."
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She continued, "I can't judge my characters. I can have an opinion on them. When I play them, I have to be convincing. Of course, Kritika knows that you can't just go around with a gun and shoot everybody. But what drives Habiba to do that was a challenge. It's a process to get into that world and to get into this character."
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The actress went on to say that she didn't have many references for Habiba as there were few characters like her on screen. Kritika shared, "We've read a little bit about the lady Don, but we don't really know how they are in their younger years. The relatability of the character is how she is a sister, a friend, or a daughter. Those things were easy to understand for me, but it was just the morality of the character I really struggled to understand."
Kritika's latest role in Zee5's Gyaarah Gyaarah is someone quite opposite to Habiba. She plays a police officer in the time-travelling sci-fi series. Her next web series will be Matka King starring Vijay Varma.