Mrunal Thakur on playing Sriti Jha’s sister in Kumkum Bhagya: ‘I was very adamant that I only wanted to play the lead’

Mrunal Thakur will now be seen opposite Shahid Kapoor in Jersey and has several other films in the pipeline. The actor was earlier a known face on television before she moved to films. She has now revealed that she was signed for the lead role on the TV show Kumkum Bhagya but her character slowly turned into a second lead, with Sriti Jha’s Pragya being the first lead. Also read: Mrunal Thakur says she discussed Ishaan Khatter with Shahid Kapoor, has worked with their ‘entire family’

Mrunal acquired fame as the younger sister of Sriti Jha’s Pragya on Kumkum Bhagya, which continues to run even today. While Sriti plays Pragya even now, Mrunal was seen as her sister Bulbul on the show.

Mrunal said she is now not very bothered about playing the lead role. She told ETimes, “I have realised that the term ‘lead’ is very misleading. I learned that right when I was doing my TV show Kumkum Bhagya. I was very adamant that I only wanted to play the lead. I was signed as the lead too, but eventually, it went into the second lead space. I realised it didn’t matter because I still won immense popularity. What matters is what impact you leave on the audience. Lead koi bhi ho, lekin kabhi kabhi asli masala dussre characters mein hota hai (whosoever is the lead character, at times, the other characters are the ones with more drama). These characters constantly add to the story and the narrative.”

Mrunal, who has seen eight film releases so far, also said, “I am new to the industry, and I don’t want to rush. I want my first 10 movies to be my learning ground. And then you need to wait and watch for my 11th or 12th film. I want to improve and take risks too.”

Mrunal was last seen in Kartik Aaryan-starrer Dhamaka on Netflix. Currently, she has five films for release this year, including Jersey. She also has Pippa, Aankh Micholi, and Thadam remake in her kitty, along with a Telugu film, Sita Ramam.