Niharika NMwho made her mark as a content creator, took her career to the world stage in 2023 with a guest voice role in the American comedy ‘Big Mouth Season 7’. His journey as an actor started last year with the Tamil film ‘Perusu’, and went on to star in ‘Mithra Mandali’ and ‘Idhayam Murali’. She is now gearing up for her Bollywood debut, slated to hit the screens on July 30.
Niharika NM opens its first days in Mumbai
The comedy film ‘Bhai Tera Star Hai’ stars Raghav Juyal, with Niharika as his love interest. In an interaction with News18 about his foray into film, he recalled, “When I moved to Mumbai three or four years ago, I spent three years training under a production house. I had gone to film school and have a theater background.”“I definitely wanted to give acting a shot. I didn’t know how far it would go or what exactly I wanted to do. All I knew was that I was passionate about it and I loved it,” she adds. Eventually, however, she chose to move away from pursuing Bollywood and focused on auditioning in southern film industries, a move she attributes to the unrealistic beauty standards of Hindi cinema.“I tried Hindi films first, but I didn’t like the standards that were set for women – what they should look like or what their skin tone should be. I thought it wasn’t the space I should fight in. It was also a very crowded space,” says Niharika. She then signed a three-film deal with Karthik Subbaraj’s production house, Stone Bench Films.
Niharika NM in his greatest regret
“But halfway through my training process with them, I turned down really good south films that did wonders at the box office. I couldn’t believe it! I was contractually bound. That will remain one of my biggest regrets. But I’m happy for whoever did it. And once the contract was over, there was no stopping me. Then I did it like raita through films in different languages,” shares Niharika.
Niharika NM facing rejection in the industry
The journey, however, was not easy for her. “There were so many reasons why I was turned down for films. It all sounds hilarious at this point,” he exclaims. Recalling one episode, he says, “There was one particular film I had to make. It was made by this great director. I grew up watching him. He handpicked me. He had auditioned for the role. Appearance test done.”“The contract was sent to my house and I had signed it. There was this intimacy clause and I had told them that I don’t feel comfortable doing intimacy on screen. They were fine with that and they were thinking of going ahead with a body double. But the actor wasn’t okay with doing the scene with a body double. He wasn’t interested. It was his call. Then it became a situation of this or that,” adds Niharika.
More about Bhai Tera Star Hai
The movie continues Ajay Singha London dreamer convinced he is destined to be Bollywood’s next big superstar. The narrative unfolds during a chaotic night as he pursues fame through hilarious misadventures and grand ambitions. It stars Raghav Juyal as Ajay Singh opposite Niharika NM, Sanjay Kapoor, Barkha Singh, Vivan Bhat’s and Parvathy in Omanakuttan.