‘ACTORS ARE FACING A DILEMMA OF UNCERTAINTY’

Bhartendu Natya Akademi , Lucknow, alumni Nalneesh Neel had three big releases during this pandemic. “First ‘Gulabo Sitabo’, then international film ‘The White Tiger’ and finally ‘Bhor’ where I played negative lead and bagged an award at the Boston Festival. Today, I feel thrilled that these films could reach a wider audience after being released on OTT.”

However, the actor feels that if these films had got a theatrical release, things would have been very different.

“I accept the fact that so many more were able to see these films on OTT. But, had these films got a theatrical release followed by OTT streaming it might have been a game-changer for me. Still, I am hopeful that God must have had a plan for me, and I have to continue doing my best,” said Nalneesh. He recently, wrapped the shoot of romcom ‘Munna aur Munni ki Shaadi’ in Goa. “Earlier, we had shot the film in Pushkar (Rajasthan) with Shreysh Talpade, Kanika Tiwari, Atul Srivastava and Rajpal Yadav. In April-mid, we shot a song and some scenes in Goa. It’s a lovely script and I am in the primary cast,” he adds.

He has also shot a 30-minute short film a father-son story ‘Alakh’ based on lockdown.

The actor is now worried about the projects that have been put on hold. “I had four shoots lined-up — two web series and films. One of the films was scheduled to be shot in Lucknow and I was extremely happy to shoot it in my own city but let’s see when it will happen. Today, we don’t know what future beholds and whether those projects will be shot at all or not! Uncertainty is the biggest dilemma for actors like us who are trying to make a mark in the industry.”

The actor is now looking forward to getting himself vaccinated. “Taking a jibe is the most important thing but even after taking the dose people shouldn’t let their guards down. After the first wave, we became very casual, but this time people are actually too scared.”

P One of the films was scheduled to be shot in Lucknow NALNEESH NEEL,