Always one to make her parts a standout in whatever project she may star in, Nimrat Kaur is now raking in the praise for her impactful act in the socially relevant film Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video. A t2 chat.
What’s been the most memorable compliment for your performance in Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video?
I had hosted a special screening for Mumbai police personnel and the best compliment was from them. They said that they didn’t feel like I was acting. One female police officer actually asked me if I had followed somebody and studied someone and lived with somebody to understand how they work, their mannerisms and body language. That really meant a lot to me because they don’t have to say these things without feeling them. They had no point to prove and nothing to gain from me. I found what they said to be really touching.
So you didn’t really speak to a cop or take notes from anyone to help you play your character?
I did it all on my own. You can’t do anything without the written word. I found a lot of inspiration within the script. It was very crisp. I actually felt like the dialogue written for her (Bela Barot, her character) was as if it was written for a guy. You know, the kind of punch it had, the kind of raw sex appeal it had and the kind of weight the words had... it had a rhythm and a musicality to it. I found that very attractive about this role. It was a woman part, but the take was very masculine somehow.
What were your major reasons for being a part of this film?
The story is so relevant to our times. It’s something we all live with. It’s a horrifying situation to be in where you put up something somewhere by mistake or something leaks from your phone and the next thing you know your entire reputation is at stake and everybody and their mother has a perspective on it.
Something like this can happen to anybody... when you are doing something on your private time and it just gets out of context and nobody wants to cut you some slack. Everybody wants to judge you and cancel you. You are judged by the media and society. What are you going to do? How do you get away from that? I felt like it was a story that must be told because it is so important.
Does being a famous face make you more vulnerable to something like this?
The consequences are multifold because I am not an anonymous person. I am not saying that it is easy for someone anonymous. It can be equally devastating, if not more. Perhaps because I am used to understanding how media cycles work, I will be able to handle something personally better than an anonymous person. But what I can stand to lose is the chance to be employed again or to protect my family from being ostracised and judged.
We carry such a burden of having to be perfect at all times. But God forbid you have a moment somewhere. We see videos of celebrities tripping and somehow that has great entertainment value. There is a slow-motion, repeat entertainment value for people to keep watching it. It is voyeurism, it is enjoyable. It’s a vicious circle and I don’t know where it begins and ends. All of us trip and fall. I have fallen from all kinds of places and thank the Lord there have been no cameras to catch that yet, at least.
The stakes are so high when you are a celebrity. One day you are in a bad mood and you don’t feel like talking to anyone. It can look rude. There are so many kinds of judgment that come along with a celebrity. Being portrayed a certain way on social media sometimes means that one doesn’t have any room to make an error. I find that very scary and sad.
My family is far away from this world and they don’t understand when certain vulgar things are written about me on my timeline or irresponsible nonsense is written about me somewhere. My mom and grandmother get very hurt. This is the sustained impact of certain things that I wish I could control, but I can’t. I try to keep an eye out for stuff like this. I don’t care beyond a point but my mom does. So I just keep deleting things because I don’t want my mom to read something about me somewhere. That is something that the film addresses with a lot of delicacy. The fact that we must be responsible with how we use social media.
What about Bela stood out for you?
She has a very no-nonsense and tough exterior. She postures as somebody really tough and stern. She goes into a room and she is not afraid of anyone. But inherently, she’s a very compassionate and extremely intuitive person. She knows where somebody is at. She can catch them out and yet she doesn’t want to call them out.
She’s a very feisty girl in a man’s world. So she kind of hides behind her clothes. She doesn’t want to make her beauty very apparent. She wants to blend into the environment she goes into. She’s comfortable with her job requiring her to be really tough. There is almost no space to make a mistake, there is a lot of pressure on her. I found that interesting and it is very far away from how I am as a person. The flamboyance and the kind of flair and edge that Bela Barot has... it is almost like she is a very volatile person. She doesn’t take the mild route.
Just this year alone, you have delivered a variety of characters in projects as diverse as School of Lies, Foundation and this film. Would you count this time as your most creatively fulfilling?
For sure. I have felt that since 2021. There has been a very interesting shift in the kind of parts that have come to me. And I would credit OTT for that. All these stories today have a platform. For instance, I couldn’t have imagined School of Lies ever getting a platform. I did The Test Case back in 2017 when the concept of series was not really heard of so much. If I had done that series today, it would have had a very large audience because the consumption appetite is so high.
Since Dasvi (2022), I feel like I have come across some of the finest scripts. I have had to sometimes try to figure out if I don’t want to do something, then why do I not want to do it? Everything is so tempting and people come up with such interesting concepts. Everyone is working so much harder now to make stories interesting, female parts interesting. With the demand for content and the amount of work that needs to be churned out to keep platforms going, you need to have interesting stories. Otherwise, people watch something for five or 10 minutes and then they move on to the next. There’s stuff to watch in India and there’s stuff to watch from all over the world and because of that creators have pulled their socks up. I have really been spoilt for choice this year.
How are you viewing your international career at this point in time? All the ones that you have done so far, be it Homeland, Wayward Pines or Foundation have been high-value projects. And you started off with The Lunchbox, of course....
I have never been able to design my career as much as I would like to. Everything has happened because of the last thing I have done. I just ensure that I give my best to whatever project comes my way internationally. I understand what medium I am working in, and what kind of a requirement I have as an actor and I do my best. I have been very fortunate to work on some really high-quality and very high-value projects. I have learned a lot from the people I have worked with. I take all of that knowledge and I use that everywhere I work.
And that’s that. There’s no plan and there’s no structuring anything. Once the strike (Screen Actors Guild strike) comes to an end, those of us working abroad will have to create a renewed relevance there. Anything that anybody has done is now pushed back in memory. I am always open to working in the US or anywhere. I love it.
Has there ever been a project or even a scene that made you say: ‘Yes, this is why I became an actor?’
What a lovely question. There are so many moments like that, especially when you work with somebody. My most recent one is the experience of working with Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan. The day I stood opposite him (for Section 84, which comes out next year) is one I will never forget. I just looked into his eyes and it was like an like out-of-body experience. It was like the universe telling me that I made the right decision and I am exactly where I should be.
Which is your favourite female cop on screen? Tell t2@abp.in
