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Nidhhi Agerwal: I wanted to be a heroine all my life

Nidhhi Agerwal: I wanted to be a heroine all my life

Despite being attached to big-ticket films for a few years now, actor Nidhhi Agerwal has had a rather start-stop career. If the pandemic was one reason, the various delays in her marquee projects was another reason. Three years since she last appeared on the big screen in Tamil and Telugu, Nidhhi is back with one of her biggest releases, the period epic Hari Hara Veera Mallu. Headlined by Pawan Kalyan, the Jyothi Krisna directorial is slated for release on July 24. It marks her maiden venture in the period genre, which often requires actors to learn new skills. Hari Hara Veera Mallu was no exception. 'For this film, I learnt horse riding. Although I am trained in ballet and Kathak, I didn't know Bharatanatyam, which was something I learnt for the film."
Hari Hara Veera Mallu follows a nonconformist character (Pawan) who steals the Koh-i-Noor diamond from the Mughals. The film, which is set to release in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam, is definitely different from the kind of films Nidhhi has starred in her career. Acknowledging that variety is needed to bring out the versatility of an actor, she says, 'A director once told me that in every film, my acting is different because I do not have a personal style yet. I usually just follow the director's instructions. I do not add my own touch to the role unless I need to. I feel like I do not have a pattern yet, or maybe I do.' However, she shares that having a particular style of acting is a double-edged sword. "We run the risk of losing uniqueness while playing different characters, right?"
In what can be construed as Nidhhi making up for all the lost time, she is not just part of the pan-Indian Pawan Kalyan film, but also plays a pivotal role in Prabhas' much-delayed, and yet much-awaited horror comedy, The Raja Saab. In fact, she had to juggle between both these sets. It posed two challenges for her: losing out on regular sleep and sleeping in transit as a result, and maintaining character continuity. However, the actor shares that the fact that both films are of two extreme genres helped her be in character. 'Every set has a completely different vibe. As soon as you enter the Hari Hara Veera Mallu sets or The Raja Saab sets, I am like, 'Ok, I am in this world.' Your surroundings, and the actual set makes a huge difference. With Hari Hara Veera Mallu, it was set in a palace, and there was no blue screen filming involved.'
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