After featuring in blockbuster films like Gold & Kabir Singh, Nikita Dutta is now winning hearts with her performance in The Big Bull. On the day of the film release on Disney + Hotstar, Nikita Dutta joined NewsX for a candid interview as part of NewsX India A-List.
Talking about her incredible journey so far, Nikita said, “If I go back into when I was in school & college, I actually didn’t have acting on my mind. Like every other very academically-oriented kid, I had plans of sitting and preparing for the IAS. It happened to me with Miss India when I just randomly decided to take part in it and I think from there my journey started. Right after that, once I was done with college, is when I got into television. Television was one of those things that came to me and it seemed interesting. I didn’t want to say no. After I said yes to my first show, I think that’s when I, kind of, fell in love with acting. Slowly & steadily, after doing three shows on television, I said yes to my first film Gold, which of course worked well and that’s how Kabir Singh also happened. From there, I started getting more chances to be a part of some really beautiful films and that’s how it has come along all this while.”
When asked about her time on the sets of The Big Bull and working with Abhishek Bachchan, she expressed, “Well, I had a fabulous time on the sets of the Big Bull. Abhishek, as a person, is extremely entertaining, especially off the camera. I think you can catch him in his best elements off the camera. He is out there to make sure everybody on set doesn’t feel left out. He’s going to pull everybody’s legs. He’s gonna make sure he rags you a little bit. I’ve been a victim of that but I think that is what makes shooting so much more fun with him around. There’s so much I got to learn from him because he is, of course, way more experienced than me. Overall, working with Abhishek and Kookie sir and shooting for The Big Bull was fabulous.”
Nikita tested positive for Covid-19 before the release of the film. Sharing her thoughts on the experience, she said “I don’t know if I should say fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t know how to put it, but I was actually feeling very sick before I tested positive. I was shooting for something and that’s when my co-actor tested positive and we decided to halt the shoot. That’s when I got tested for the first time. It came negative. But, just within a day , I started feeling very unwell and when I got my second test done, that also came negative. It was only in the third test that i tested positive for Covid-19. I got it done just for safety because I wanted to travel. So, by the time I tested positive, I already started to feel much better and now with every day I am getting better. But yeah, it’s something you can’t escape. I think it is inevitable now. Everybody who is out there working outdoors, is somehow going to catch it.”
Expressing her views on the vaccination drive in India and whether it should be rolled out to every adult in the country, she stated, “If you see. India is a highly populated country, so it is right to prioritise, how they have been doing. Though, I also feel it should be really fast because, at the end of it, you know we all want to make a livelihood. We all step out to make money, to earn, make our bread and butter so the soonest this can be done, the better it is for the country and for everybody.”
On doing ‘Rocket Gang’ opposite Aditya Seal, Dutta expressed, “That’s something I am damn excited about. We started this project back in 2019. Then, the pandemic happened. In December 2020, we were in the last leg of finishing the film but, unfortunately, we had to halt it again because of Covid cases on set. But, it is something I am really looking forward to as it is out-and-out dance-based film. I have never danced in front of the camera and this is going to be completely dancing. So, that’s something I am really really looking forward to as it is something different.”
Throwing light on her other upcoming projects, Nikita said, “I am doing this horror film called Ezra with Emraan Hashmi that’s scheduled to believe this year itself. So, again that is a completely different genre again even that is a completely different character I m playing. So, again I think I m very happy with the kind of palette that I have in the coming year that the audience is going to get to see.”
On a concluding note, Nikita shared a piece of advice to all the young girls who wanna make it big in Bollywood. She said, “I have always followed one principle, i.e go with what your heart says, don’t get influenced by anybody who is coming to tell you how something needs to be done. Do what you think is right. This is one principle I have followed from day one. When I had said yes to television, there were a lot of people who came up to me and said ‘You were making a big mistake and don’t do this. You were gonna stuck over here and you will never be able to be a part of films’. In fact, when I wanted to do films and I took a break from television, I had people coming to me and saying that ‘You are saying no to a constant source of income. With films, you have to be patient and you just never know when you will get the next film.’ So, I have heard all those kinds of things and I think one thing I have always maintained is just follow your heart, do good scripts, do good work that’s all that matters in the end. I think success, or whatever you do in the future, will follow accordingly.”