Kirti Kulhari: Coming out of marriage was more difficult than taking the decision to be with someone

For Kirti Kulhari, stepping out of her marriage wasn’t an easy decision, it was something she just had to do. The actor, who announced on April 1 that she and her husband Saahil Sehgal have decided to separate mutually after five years of marriage, says the process of healing started long before she shared the news. She’s presently in a “very good space”, but Kulhari confesses it took a “lot of courage” to call it quits.

“It was a decision which was more difficult than taking the decision of being with someone. Getting together is filled with families coming together, and celebrating the idea of love, while this was the opposite of that,” Kulhari opens up, adding, “It’s breaking something that you built together, families are broken. It’s a tough decision, but I thought if the choice of coming together was mine, so not being in it — as I feel its done with its course or it’s time to let go — should also be mine.”

But that doesn’t mean her decision didn’t come with any consequences, instead she learned to take them all in her stride.

“Consequences that affect you, and break you at different points of time, but at the end of the day, you have to remind yourself that you did the right thing, and you did what you had to do,” says the actor.

In fact, the concept of marriage is something which connects her with her latest web film, Shaadisthan, on a personal level, as it brings the realities of this “marriage-obsessed” nation out in front.

“We have so many ideas and dramas attached to the concept of marriage. We’ve also attached money and status to it. We make it sound like that shaadi is the be all and end all. If you want to be successful in life, shaadi is a must. It is important to address these notions,” opines the 36-year-old.

A glance through her Instagram feed after the news of separation gives a Eat Pray Love (2010) vibe, as pictures of her solo trip shine through. According to Kulhari, one can connect the dots in that way, but travelling has always been her way to liberate and find some calm.

“The announcement came now, but I have been contemplating things for some time. It’s not like my healing started happening after the decision was announced. My healing has been taking place over a period of time. And honestly, now, I’m in a very good space,” signs off Kulhari, who has already started shooting as soon as the unlock phase started in the country after the second wave of Covid-19 crisis.