She started her career in a movie called Darling and ended up being called the darling of Tamil cinema because of her dainty performance. In the line of new generation stars, Nikki Galrani has already made a mark with her dedication to roles and adorable demeanour. In a conversation with JFW, Nikki talks movies, weddings, and just about anything under the sun! By Chandini K.

Nikki is a lot of everything. A lot of filmy, a lot of fun, a lot of enthusiasm and most importantly, a lot to handle when it comes to being a bride who is on a mission to get her perfect wedding-like scene! As she poses, she twirls, turns and twists. We are reminded of her characters on screen that are equally fireball-like, full of enthusiasm and a whole lot of chirpiness. We slowly steer the conversation from movies to weddings and each response is as mirthful as the last.

“I debuted with experience.”

For Sindhi-born Nikki, who grew up in Bengaluru, cinema was just one of the many interests that she fancied. “Well my debut in cinema was never actually planned. I was a science student who later switched to fashion designing. I started modelling towards the end of my college days and then the acting projects came in. There were quite a number of career switches before I reached here, but I think it all worked in my favour at the end.”

Although technically speaking the Malayalam movie 1983 was her first official release, Nikki’s actual first movie experience was shooting for the remake of the Tamil blockbuster Paiyaa in Kannada called Ajith. “I had shot for a different movie much earlier than Darling and that released years later. So the movies I thought would be my debut weren’t really and so, I debuted on screen when I had significantly more experience behind the camera! The experience of shooting all these firsts was pretty amazing for sure!”

 

“I am a total Tamil ponnu!”

Five minutes into our conversation with Nikki and you can trace a South Indian accent with dispersed words of Tamil, Kannada and Telugu peppered in. Nikki says her fluency comes from years of being raised down south and in fact producers find her an exception; one among the many North Indian heroines who can speak the native language. “I have never actually considered myself a North Indian in the first place. I have roots there but I am purely South Indian at heart. I am a South product in my lifestyle, in my food and pretty much everything I do or say. The Sindhi kadhi in my house resembles sambar sadam! My dad is from Mumbai and my mom is from Chennai; besides being raised in Bengaluru, I feel like I have a better rapport with people down South.” Were producers shocked at the fluency, we ask. “More like pleasantly surprised. They feel comfortable and are able to communicate with me on a better level.”

Watch the video of 49 Questions with Nikki Galrani here: