Exclusive! The chance to work with Ganesh sir was all I needed to sign up for Sakath: Nishvika Naidu

Every time Nishvika Naidu has been asked about actors she would love to collaborate with, she’s always named Ganesh and Sharan as her top picks. But little did she know then that her wish would be fulfilled so soon. This year, the actress has got the opportunity to work with both her favourites; in fact, she’s paired with Ganesh in Sakath and has a cameo in his Gaalipata 2 and is the lead opposite Sharan in his latest home production, Guru Shishyaru.

“Yes, it’s been an exciting turn of events. I signed up for Gaalipata 2 even before I was offered Sakath, although it was only a cameo. I remember watching and loving Gaalipata back when I was school. Knowing that I would get to work with director Yogaraj Bhat and Ganesh sir was enough reason for me to be part of it. Then I got Sakath, in which I would be paired with Ganesh sir and that, I would say, was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t be happier,” says the actress excitedly.

When director Suni sir approached Nishvika (during the lockdown) to play the lead alongside Ganesh in Sakath, the team had already been shooting some portions without a leading lady at that point. “It goes without saying that I was happy to just be able to work with Ganesh sir, so I said yes. The role was the bonus. I was quite intrigued with the role, because she is visually-challenged, which comes with a lot of responsibility. The role is also far more serious in nature compared to all my earlier work. Of course, I have done roles that are different from each other, but they’d still be the girl-next-door kind. This was totally out of my boundaries. This character, Nakshatra, I knew I could do it, for which I underwent a lot of workshops with visually-challenged people, so that I could observe their body language to adapt to my character. It is really difficult to do something that you cannot even imagine. All I could do is adapt and that’s what I was doing in Sakath,” explains Nishvika.

Interestingly, though, her roles in Sakath and Guru Shishyaru (which is still in production) have her in a more desi look, compared to her more glam outings earlier. “Nakshatra’s outfits are more work appropriate, because she is a teacher, but for Guru Shishyaru, I had to be a langa-dhavani clad village belle, which was new for me too. I am completely city bred and the idea of a village is new to me. I love the whole vibe, but it didn’t come naturally to me, be it the body language, mannerisms, outfits, etc. For instance, people in villages tend to lift and tuck their skirts up a bit while engaged in some menial work. I wasn’t sure how much I should lift, and the director had to eventually tell me that it is not about the precise length, but how naturally it appears while doing it. I also struggled to ride a bicycle in the film in that outfit, more so because it was an old model men’s cycle that has a high bar across from the seat to the handle. I struggled so much that I took the cycle home, wore the costume and practiced on it long enough before I had to shoot another sequence like that. After a point, I began enjoying this process,” says Nishvika.

Also in her kitty is a film with Darling Krishna, called Dil Pasand. “I am currently shuttling between the sets of Guru Shishyaru and Dil Pasand. In this film with Krishna, I am back to being all glamorous, as a rich spoilt brat, which is fun. I’ve known Krishna for a while and spoke about working together; finally, it’s worked out. It’s an intense love story directed by Shiva Tejas. As of now this is all tha t’s happening with me’ I have been busy these films and didn’t have dates to allot to anything new. Once I finish Guru Shishyaru, I may take up something,” she signs off.