‘Want every take of mine to be perfect’

Nidhhi Agerwal muses on learning from failure and her beginnings as a natural in front of the camera

After receiving an average response to her Bollywood debut Munna Michael, actor Nidhhi Agerwal is now focusing on her Tamil debut, Savyasachi, slated for a 2018 release. The actor, hailing from Bangalore, comes from a completely non-film background and never went to acting school, but always knew she wanted to become an actor.

While it is normal for a newcomer to be nervous when facing the camera for the first time, Nidhhi says it never was a problem for her. “I’ve done it since I was a kid. I had a neighbour who was a photographer, and he’d always say, ‘I am going to shoot you’ and I would always cry. Then my mom told me ‘he means he is going to shoot (click) your pictures on his camera’. I’ve done photo shoots and a small ad with him, too,” she recalls.

However, Niddhi agrees that as compared to posing in front of the camera for a photo shoot, doing the same for a film is an entirely different proposition. “When the video would roll, I’d get nervous, and it was difficult. Also, acting in a room is very different from a film’s set because when you’re acting with a huge setup and people around, you have to remember a lot of things. I want to reach a stage where every take that I give is perfect,” Nidhhi shares.

Yet, when it comes to performing in front of a lot of people, Nidhhi says she is quite at ease at it. “I’ve always been a trained dancer. I’ve learned ballet for seven years and Kathak and belly dancing for some time. So, it was a coincidence, that for Munna Michael, I had to audition with a dance scene [since] I would be playing the role of a dancer. For acting, a two-week workshop helped me break my shyness,” she signs off.

PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT PHOTO: AMAL KS/HT Nidhhi Agerwal