Hari Hara Veera Mallu actor Nidhhi Agerwal Interview: I got more women-oriented films in Tamil but didn’t do… | Exclusive

It’s late into the night, and just a few minutes before this conversation started, Nidhhi Agerwal wrapped up her final patchwork for Hari Hara Veera Mallu (HHVM). This Telugu epic action drama has been in the making for years now. Nidhhi has been with the project for nearly five years, which features actor-politician Pawan Kalyan in the lead role.

“I just finished the patchwork, and my portions have been wrapped up. This film has been a long but beautiful journey because we have travelled with this project for quite some time. Kudos to the producers who took the entire burden on his shoulders of holding the film and not letting anything go wrong,” says Nidhhi, who stressed the fact that period films are a little more tedious to shoot and naturally take more time.

Hari Hara Veera Mallu actor Nidhhi Agerwal Interview:

Hari Hara Veera Mallu is a period actioner, set in the 17th century of the Mughal era, and about an outlaw. Nidhhi says that both hers and Pawan Kalyan’s characters are fictional. “Only Aurangazeb’s character truly existed, but the world around it is fictional.”

The Eeswaran actor agrees that it was a field day for her as an artiste. “Who wouldn’t want to play kings and queens in period films. This is the biggest film I have done so far, and also the best-written role I have gotten to perform. I am grateful to have gotten to essay Panchami, who has a lot to do in the film, takes the story forward, and has different shades within her. She isn’t a cliched role, and very sassy.”

As someone who has been trained in dance forms like ballet and Kathak, Nidhhi credits her skill, which has made her an actor today. In fact, her first film, Munna Michael, was also a dance film. But with HHVM, Nidhhi says she had to learn Bharatnatyam and horse-riding. “Knowing how to drive a car isn’t an option here. I got trained with this horse called Arthi, which was very sweet. We are good friends now.”

Asked her take on being part of films which are star hero driven, like in the case of HHVM with Pawan Kalyan and her next The Raja Saab with Prabhas, Nidhhi says, “I always feel that people who have tiny roles in big or small films, and if you still manage to do a well-written character, people would still remember you. It looks like I am choosing only the big films, but I feel I am getting more of this than other films. But having said that, I have gotten more women-oriented films in Tamil, but did not do it because I did not like what I was offered. I did not want to do women-oriented films for the sake of doing it. The story should be genuinely good. I go by the entire story and characters and lean towards films like Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali films.”

For Nidhhi, who says she is a director’s actor, a lot relies on who the filmmaker is, and that is her first criterion. “Everybody sees the world differently, and whose world I want to be part of is a big criterion. Then, it would be my character within that story. For HHVM, I signed right after iSmart Shankar, while for The Raja Saab, I liked by character.”

‘Everyone stands the test of time, and not about being popular for some time’

Having come from a period when social media was not a thing, and to working in times when social media platforms play a major part in an actor’s life, Nidhhi says she feels that social media is something that can be manipulated a lot. “Everyone stands the test of time, and not about being popular for some time. It is about longevity, and sustaining your career.”

Hari Hara Veera Mallu, which is scheduled to release on May 9, had gone through several postponements. While it was definitely required resilience to stick with the project, Niddhi says, “I have had moments where every single person in my life has had this conversation with me on what I am doing. But I always believed, even though it has been difficult, that there is something called divine timing. The right things happen at the right time. I don’t have any doubts about the decision I took.”

Nidhhi has already begun shooting for The Raja Saab, a horror romantic comedy with Prabhas. “I have both horror and comedy portions, and it is going to be fun! It is the most fun set I have ever been to. Prabhas will be coming back in his vintage style,” she adds.