Busy 24x7

Nikhila Vimal is perhaps lesser known than her character name Kabani Bonekad in Love 24 x 7 opposite Dileep. Kabani with the exotic name and beautiful face attracts the attention of her boss Dileep, speaking a full-fledged Thiruvana- nthapuram slang that flummoxes him. Nikhila has not been seen in Mollywood post 24 x 7 but the hiatus is not deliberate. She has been charting a course in Tamil and chugging along, signing films like Kidaari and Vetrivel, both opposite Sasi Kumar. The big news now is that Nikhila has been signed on as the female lead for the Telugu version of the Mollywood hit Oru Vadakkan Selfie opposite Allari Naresh.  As she talks, you notice a refreshing candor in her words for Nikhila is completely unguarded and totally bubbly — an interesting cocktail.

Starting off playing sister to Jayaram in Bhagyadevatha when she was in Class 8, Nikhila did one more Tamil film before she played the lead in Love 24 x 7.Explaining her hiatus, she says, “At the time that I was offered Love …,I had got the call for Vetrivel but I gave priority to the Malayalam project and declined the Tamil one. Call it destiny or coincidence, the shoot of Vetrivel  got postponed till after the release of Love,  which allowed me to join the team. Soon after this I acted in Kidaari and then got busy.”

In an aside, Nikhila adds, “Since I stay in Kannur and not the film hub of Kochi, I guess most of the Mollywood fraternity do not know me.” Her frankness is evident when she quotes, “It is not as if I got a slew of offers after Love  ... and those that came were not interesting enough.” Also after a year's breather from Mollywood due to her Tamil projects, Nikhila did not want to sign just any film to add to her filmography.

Talking about the remake of Oru Vadakkan Selfie, Nikhila came to know that the director of the Telugu remake G. Prajith (who also helmed the Malayalam remake) was looking for a heroine and since she was free at that time nodded her assent to the project when the makers contacted her. The shoot of the film wrapped up six days back. The story, she says, has not been tweaked and her character name is Sindhu. Talking about working in Telugu, Nikhila says, “I am fluent in Tamil and can read and write the language.”

There has been widespread appreciation for her impeccable Tamil dubbing minus any slang and she reveals,'  I actually took pains to learn the language for a Tamil film and I guess that has helped me speak like a native but Telugu presented  a huge challenge before me in terms of the language and the working atmosphere. It was only because the project was a remake of Oru Vadakkan Selfie that I signed on the dotted line.”

When remakes are made, every actor runs the risk of being compared with the the original actors. Nikhila is aware of it and says, “Frankly when I received the offer, all I looked at was that it was a film whose script  I was familiar with and it also was helmed by the same Malayali director Prajith and had a Malayali cameraman Kunjunny. After some days when I actually sat down and started thinking, it id strike me that comparisons would be made but by that time it was too late to pull out,” she laughs while saying this, adding, “Since I was adamant that my Telugu diction be right, I got hold of the dialogues a day earlier and memorised them through the night even calling up the Telugu people I knew for the correct diction and meaning of the words.”

All these efforts, she feels have paid off when she saw the rushes. There were also no language goof ups on the sets thanks to her determination to learn the language right. Nikhila confesses to a love for the dramatics and enjoys acting in emotionally loaded sequences. What she does not like is the song and dance routine where romantic moments are involved.

“Give me emotional  teary eyed moments, give me anger- I will do it but give me a dance and a song and expect me to romance- now that is difficult!,”  she adds.

Nikhila never dreamt of becoming an actor though she is a trained dancer. Right now, she is still standing at the crossroads wondering whether her studies (she joined her PG) or career be given importance.

Currently Nikhila has committed to another Tamil film Ranga opposite Sathyaraj's son Sibiraj. Asked if she has moved lock, stock and barrel to Kollywood, Nikhila lets loose a guffaw and signs off in her candid style, “But no one is calling me from Mollywood, I can't walk in without an invitation.”