Kirti Kulhari recalls being replaced in a film overnight while battling depression: ‘It just shook me up’

Actor Kirti Kulhari opened up about being dropped from a South film several years ago when she was at the lowest point in her life. She said that she felt like ‘it’s the end’ when she was suddenly replaced.

Kirti Kulhari made her Bollywood debut in 2010 with Khichdi: The Movie. She is known for films such as Shaitan, Pink, Mission Mangal and Uri: The Surgical Strike.

Speaking to RJ Siddharth Kannan, Kirti said, “There was one time that I specifically remember where I was just losing everything. It was around 2009. I had bagged a south Indian film and it so happened that in my personal life, I was going through the worst time I have ever had in my life. I was going through depression. I remember when that was happening and I got this film, I went for a photoshoot for the film. After I came back from it, these guys never called me to come and shoot with them.”

“I was replaced. I didn’t realise it then. I don’t know if I was looking like s**t but I was just so not in my elements that I guess people could just see it. I was just replaced overnight. That, in addition to what I was going through personally, just shook me up in a way… It first made me feel like it’s the end. Like, there is no coming out of this and I am going to stay here, and this is what my life is going to be. It was that scary,” she added.

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Kirti said that once her mental health began improving, she ‘start(ed) seeing light’. She added that the incident put her on a path of self-healing and spirituality.

Meanwhile, Kirti was seen in two OTT releases this year -- The Girl on the Train, which came out on Netflix, and Shaadisthan, which came out on Disney+ Hotstar.