Nikki Tamboli calls her ‘Puppy Love’ co-star Tanuj Virwani ‘fun-loving’; wishes to work with Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh – Exclusive | Hindi Movie News – Times of India
You are all set to make your OTT debut with ‘Puppy Love’. Tell us something about it.
Well, in this project, the entire story and narrative whirls around my character. In fact, the lone reason why I am playing my part in this is because the story is about me and my character. There is so much rivalry around me and I look at it in a robust way. Competition gets the best out of me and motivates me to do even better work. It drives me to strive for distinction and top-notch prowess.
Tell us something about your character in the series.
I am playing a Punjabi NRI girl in the project. It is something that suits my persona to a sizable extent and hence, the director and producer were keen to cast me for this particular role. In fact, they were hunting for this character for a long time. The producers saw me in Bigg Boss and I was their only option for this. People recognise me and relate with me for who I am and the character sketch needed someone exactly like me. That’s how things fell in place for me in this project.
How was it working with Tanuj Virwani?
Tanuj and I have got along gloriously. He is an amazing person and he has got a great sense of humour. For me, a sense of humour is extremely important to vibe with and he is a fun-loving guy. Whatever time we spent together on set was simply sublime and I would love to work with him again. Not many people are aware of the fact that I was about to work with him in ‘Abhay 3’ series as well earlier. However, the dates didn’t work out and hence it didn’t happen. But destiny put us back together again. Life is a complete circle, it seems.
You have been someone who has never shied away from speaking your mind. Has your outspoken nature affected your work in any way?
Not really. I have always been this way and I won’t like to change anything about it. The people who love me have always admired me because of what I have been. People should always accept you for who you are and not for who they want you to be. You can’t change your nature according to someone else’s convenience and preference. In fact, they need to change their perspective. Of course, if I personally feel that I would like to change anything about me that’s not constructive, I will do it as per my own terms. But why for someone else?
You command a huge fan following on social media. How do you deal with trolls and negativity?
I simply don’t deal with it because I am so headstrong that such minuscule things cannot trouble me at all. I have groomed my own mind in such a way that all these things don’t trouble me by any means. Ignorance is also an additional effort that I don’t wish to waste for something as trivial as this. It’s inconsequential for me.
Can you share any crazy fan experiences that you have had?
Well, the initial instances are always special. I remember flying to Dubai for the first time after my popularity post the success of Bigg Boss. People were going mad when they saw me and they started shouting in happiness and merriment. In fact, the hilarious part was that it was during the time of Covid-19 and I had my mask on. However, even me concealing my identity didn’t stop people from recognising me and that was so special itself. Everywhere, right from malls to the other places I visited, people recognised me. I was hounded for autographs and selfies and it felt really nice. They have noticed things about me and my personality from Bigg Boss and it is a huge thing for me. I am immensely grateful for all the love and adulation.
If you were to make your debut in Bollywood films, who would you love to work with?
Well, I am someone who wants to work with everyone. There are so many prodigious and exceptionally talented individuals. If I have to take names, my personal favourites have always been Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor. Almost everyone is good-looking and talented and there’s so much to learn from everyone. You never know what you can learn from an individual and how it helps you in your professional life going forward. So when there are so many good individuals, why limit yourself to just a few options? There are so many stupendous directors. My personal favourites have always been Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani. They are certainly on my ‘hit list’. I mentioned the word ‘hit’ here because I manifest working with them in future to deliver ‘hits’.
Have you been a movie buff since your childhood?
Yes, I have always been one. I have literally grown up watching all sorts of Bollywood films. I have always been a shy kid who didn’t know how to present myself in front of the camera. I was shy and would run away from any sort of public speaking activity. All these are important traits of acting. However, today, life is such that all the things from which I was hiding earlier, are all an indispensable part of my life as an artist. For me, the actual reason for contentment is the fact that I could successfully convert my weakness into my strength. Today, I am madly in love with whatever I am doing and it keeps me going. I want to push regular boundaries to get the best out of myself as a versatile artist.
What’s next?
Well, a lot of things are there in the pipeline. Of course, I can’t reveal or talk much about it as I am not supposed to before the correct timeline. As and when the announcements keep happening, I will keep everyone posted. Stay tuned.
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