Niharika NM has been popular on social media for many years, with a large following across platforms. Although he is far from an unknown face, acting is a new adventure for him. He will now be seen in his fourth film, ‘Bhai Tera Star Hai’, which stars Raghav Juyal facing him. Filled with joy, Niharika she is as funny and outspoken as she is online, which also reflects her lively personality even online.In a candid conversation, Niharika talks about her latest film, which released on July 30, her ambitions as an actor, learning to overcome social media negativity, embracing self-confidence, and much more. Read on…
What impressed you the most about ‘Bhai Tera Star Hai’?
First, the story I thought was messed up and nuts in the best way and I felt like myself, I enjoy watching messed up movies and messed up comedy and misfits and this was exactly that. And as an audience, when I got to see the script on paper, I was very happy. So I decided that I want to make films that I can enjoy as an audience. So I signed up right away and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a pretty good group. Everyone has their part, everyone is doing their part, together they make what the film is. That’s what makes a movie what it is, honestly. The coming together of all the characters and they sprinkle their personalities over the characters they have been given. I think it’s a beautiful, chaotic mess that’s really a riot.
‘Idhayam Murali ‘, Peru,’Mithra Mandali ‘ and now this, one sees diversity in your choices..
I want to try and push my limits. I want to learn more. Because I feel like I’ve been doing the same kind of online stuff forever. I’m just disgusted. I’m so tired. And I like to stimulate. I like my mind to be stimulated. And I think the monotony of it made me feel like I was in a stupor. And I felt like I didn’t have a way to show exactly what I could do or what I wanted to do. And I also chose movies like that, where in the beginning I chose comedy, dark comedy, dark comedy, horror comedy, I chose all of them. But I just wanted to see the variety of comics I could explore before I got too emotional. Just trying to see if I’m good at what I do first.
Because of your work as a producer, the audience knows you, unlike it would be the case for a newcomer. Does this add value to you or does it make it difficult for you to let go of what isn’t and find new characters all the time?
Sometimes I feel like, you know, people expect me to be a certain way, because they’re used to it. But I have also noticed that they are open to other differences, because I also understand that as a person, you have different sides, and you explore different ideas. And I can’t always be funny or happy. So I think it makes me human. And as it is, I think I’ve always kept things private, I’ve never shared much of my life or anything about my life online. So they don’t really know who I am as a person.
Has this been a conscious decision not to let people know too much about you as a person?
Yes, it really was, because I started on the Internet at a very young age of 16. And I have been on the Internet for the last ten years. So it feels like I had to grow up in front of the audience. So when I fail, or when I lose, it happens publicly. So it can be a little difficult to take in or think about or digest when you’re young. And I think I’ve learned from my mistakes not to give out information that can be used against you personally. Now, people are criticizing the content of the work I am doing, I cannot, I will not take it personally, I will take it as criticism and correct it because they cannot answer for everything personally, because they do not know. That was a conscious decision.
What was it like sharing screen space with Raghav Juyal is Sanjay Kapoor ?
I think I had the best time working with Raghav. He’s very professional, but he’s just as funny on camera as he is on camera. And he has this contagious energy, which really inspires us, even if it’s like the most amazing moment we’re shooting. And I think that’s a little rare, where someone is so excited to do their job that it makes everyone else a fan. And Sanjay Kapoor sir is a very handsome man. He always has a smile on his face, and is very involved in his activities. And he cares a lot about the script, about the film, about what he’s doing, about his clothes, like he’s really, really concerned, like he really cares. And even during the promotion, I’m always like, you know, why aren’t we doing this? Why are we not doing this? We need to push this harder. He really cares. And I think that’s a beautiful thing, considering that they don’t have to.
When you were transitioning to acting, did you receive any advice or suggestions that you listened to?
You know, I feel like a lot of the advice that I have, a lot of times what I’ve noticed is people who don’t do much on their own are the first to give advice, and it goes for free. So I’ve learned not to listen to advice from people who haven’t done anything. Yeah, seriously. And I think one thing I’ve learned in these ten years is that it doesn’t matter what people think about you, because opinions are not truth. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, because some people don’t like tea. And that’s totally fine. They have the right to their opinion. However, I will not confuse my head and what I know about myself and the faith I have in myself with external validation or opinion, even though my work sometimes depends on external validation. I think I have strength and I believe in myself, I think I have hope.But I think it comes from me feeling like I’m not good enough, from me having imposter syndrome for too long growing up online. And now that I’m growing up, wiser, a little bit, I’ve learned from my mistakes. I have learned how I used to feel. And I know that’s not true. Just as this feeling is right, but it also depends on someone else’s opinion, which is not my time or effort or energy.
So, did it take time to get to the point where self-control and self-confidence came naturally? Or were you always like this?
I think, most importantly, it took a lot of time. It took me a long time to stop feeling sorry for myself, not feeling good enough, not feeling good, or any of the good things, you know, because I feel like we’re always thinking about the terrible things that people say to us or the terrible things that happened to us. After that, little by little, I don’t think there was a change or the day I woke up and I was like, today, I think differently. I think it was just because I was so depressed because of my self-doubt about other people’s opinions. So I think, little by little, my brain learned to cut through the noise and focus on what’s important. What I think about now is what I think about myself, what my friends and family think about me, because sometimes they believe in me even if I don’t. And this really helps, as does having strong support. I think about me, especially my team, my family, my friends, they have been very strong and have faith in me, even when I have left. And that helps me to get through it and keep reminding myself because they always remind me.
Is there a dream role or genre you’d like to revisit?
I think I have a very crazy one. I grew up watching things like Dexter and everything. I liked Obsession recently. I want to play a mysterious psychopath or as a killer. I just want to do something crazy that will scare people. I want to do a very rooted story where there’s no glam, nothing, it’s like emotion, because sometimes I watch movies like that. And I cry when I look at them, like I want a tissue box.