‘We are all different shades of grey’
Nikitin Dheer gained popularity in Bollywood with films such as Chennai Express (2013), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Dabangg 2 (2012) and Housefull 3 (2016). While he is shooting for Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi, he has also signed on a web show. “It is a grey role and it will be up to people to figure out if my character is the protagonist or antagonist. It’s a story about the mafia, which starts from the ’80s and goes on till 2000. I took it on, as the show is story-driven and doesn’t focus on gimmicks,” says the actor.
Nikitin feels that he has been stereotyped as a villain and hopes filmmakers think of him while casting other kinds of roles as well. “Of late, there are many characters in films that aren’t defined in the black or white space. Being grey is cool. There is an old saying that life exists in greys. I feel we are all different shades of grey. Even all of us aren’t black or white but grey so why not the characters in our stories. When you tell the story from one character’s perspective, he or she becomes the central character. Today, the times and people’s thought processes are changing, which is why, a film like Joker saw huge success. People understand the stigmas society has due to which someone reacts the way they do. I feel, web shows have brought in some level of maturity in terms of content and it’s helped the audiences and the industry. We are not stuck to the same kind of narrative,” he opines.
While he has done films, Nikitin also did a TV show and will soon shoot for his web series. The actor admits that he isn’t image conscious. “In fact, all actors want to break the image they have. Moreover, no actor is bigger than the medium. I found TV and films equally amazing and got a lot of love for all my work on both these mediums,” he signs off.