College Romance 3 Exclusive! Nupur Nagpal: I auditioned for Hippy before bagging Dhatrapriya

Nupur Nagpal, who has become a pivotal role of College Romance thanks to her character Dhatrapriya, might not have been a part of season 3, as per her revelation to OTTplay. The actress shared that she was originally approached to play Hippy. Those who know about the show, know that Hippy is no longer associated with it. Lucky for Nupur, she is still there and has become an important part of the gang.

We at OTTplay got into a candid, heart-to-heart conversation with Nupur about her character, journey and projects. Excerpts…

You have just entered the show and already become an inseparable part of it. Was it exactly like that when you came on sets - that you were inseparable from the mad bunch of actors?

Just being able to be a part of this show in its entirety is fabulous. It was a very interesting character to explore as it is. She actually makes some real relationships, which is very exciting. They don't even know her but makes her way into the gang and now has interpersonal relationships with everyone which is so beautiful. How it pans out - that is what you see in College Romance.

Yes I'm very glad that everybody accepted me immediately. I was very scared when I went to sets because I had gone as a fangirl. I saw the first season of the show when I was studying. I loved watching the first season. When the second season started, I would constantly have these thoughts that what if they don't like me or want me thrown away from the show. They were really warm and welcoming. It literally took just a day for the ice to break and ever since then, it's been a joyride.

Is Dhatrapriya transformed?

I don't know how to answer that yet. To sit on Mohini is transformation enough for her.

That we saw but can we expect Amrita Rao in Main Hoon Na-type transformation later in the series?

I'm a sucker for makeovers. When they do Anne Hathaway's makeover in Princess Diaries, that is one of my favourite scenes. I really wanted that but it might be too much to turn her into a bombshell so soon. She's a little bit more presentable for sure.

How did you feel when you were offered the role? Some do not like to be the nerd of the college while others love it. What was your reaction?

I had actually auditioned for this show not knowing what I was auditioning for. These people were very secretive. I saw some random Facebook post and applied for it thinking I'll shoot in Delhi. When I read the script, then I realized that it was for College Romance. First I got excited that the second season is coming out and then that I could be a part of it. First I thought it was for the role of Hippy. They liked my audition and said that I don't look like a hippie. They wanted someone very tall and then asked to test me for another character. The next character was Dhatrapriya. It was so much fun to audition for the role. I Googled the name to understand what it means and I got nothing. I auditioned for it and then bagged the role. It was a blessing in disguise that I could be a part of the last two episodes and got me to be a part of the gang. I had no reservations about playing a nerdy girl. I was just excited.

Did adding sir and madam to the people who were playing the exact same role - of a student - feel weird?

The gang is made of very popular, cool and stud kids from college. They are seniors and I'm a junior. She's also a fangirl. Even in real life, some seniors demand that you call them sir and ma'am. Dhatrapriya is all hearts for them. She looks up to them. Toh woh dil se nikalta hai. She wants to be a part of the group and is very excited about everything that is happening. It's all aspirational for her. The journey from calling them sir and ma'am to calling them by their first names, the journey is really adorable.

We all know that Dhatrapriya is not from the college. So do we get to see her backstory soon?

Not yet. We're just focusing on her future so far. There's a little bit of where she comes from and how her mind functions.

As a viewer, do you feel that Deepika is going to be very pissed about Karan and Priya's love story?

The best thing about Deepika's character is that she's the most unpredictable. In one moment she's okay and in the other she's like fu** off. You never know which was the board will turn. It's very hectic and Dhatrapriya as a character is very tentative as it is. Deepika gets happy, sad and angry very spontaneously. She can sway anyway.

I still remember there was this scene in the second season where she looks at Bagga and asks 'do you want to f**k?' I was like, 'Where is this coming from?' It's really cool.

Also tell me about your association with Aspirants.

We were shooting for College Romance season 2 and I actually got the script on the sets of College Romance 2. I was one of the two female characters for the show. I auditioned for both of them though. That's how Aspirants happened. We shot for College Romance in September and Aspirants in December-January.

Your upcoming projects?

I am working on a couple of web shows. I'm looking at them primarily now. I'm concentrating my energy on working in the web format. I really enjoy that. After College Romance, I did Aspirants, Tabbar and now, College Romance 3. Now I have a couple of shows that have new seasons. I'm looking at two shows right now.