Kriti Sanon's Egg-Freezing Secret: 'The Best Gift I Gave Myself

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Kriti Sanon had two months of nothing to do but eat.

No shoot days, no schedule, just one instruction from her director: gain fifteen kilograms to play a pregnant surrogate in Mimi. It sounds like a strange window to make a major medical decision. Kriti used it to freeze her eggs.

Photo Credit: Instagram: @kritisanon

Speaking to Karishma Mehta on the Humans of Bombay podcast, the actor revealed for the first time that she underwent egg freezing during the physical transformation for her National Award-winning film. It is a decision she had kept private for years, and one she says she planned with unusual precision.

The Logic Behind The Timing

"I froze my eggs. Very smartly, I did it during that time when I had to gain weight for Mimi," Kriti said. "It makes you bloat, and I was anyway gaining weight. I had two months of no shoot. All I'm supposed to do is gain weight, and this is a film on surrogacy. Let me just do it."

Egg freezing, medically known as oocyte cryopreservation, involves a course of hormonal injections that stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs, which are then retrieved and frozen for future use. Bloating and fluid retention are common side effects of the stimulation phase. Kriti reasoned that if her body was going to change shape either way, she may as well let the two overlap.

"Almost Like A Pregnant Woman"

The process was not without its toll. "There is a point when you feel almost hormonally disrupted, almost like a pregnant woman. Your mood swings are going off the charts," she admitted. It was, in her words, "not an easy process" - but one she does not regret.

Kriti was also candid about privilege. "I know that everyone cannot afford it, and I am fortunate that I could afford it so I did it," she said, acknowledging that elective egg freezing in India typically runs into lakhs of rupees once medication, retrieval and storage are factored in - a cost that puts it out of reach for most women, and one that is rarely covered by health insurance.

Taking The Pressure Off

For Kriti, the decision was less about a specific plan for motherhood and more about removing a source of quiet anxiety. "I'm glad that I did because I don't want to have that in my head," she said, referring to the pressure of a ticking biological clock shaping her personal relationships or career choices.

Mimi, released in 2021 and directed by Laxman Utekar, follows a small-town dancer who agrees to be a surrogate for an American couple. Kriti's performance won her the National Film Award for Best Actress - an achievement that, it turns out, ran alongside a far more private milestone.