‘Forever single’ ready to mingle

This is going to be a milestone year for Nithiin. The 34-year-old actor has announced his wedding has been fixed for April 16. He will be marrying Shalini, who he has been dating for the last two years.

Nithiin says he first met Shalini through common friends in 2012. They became friends. But it was only after they began dating that they came to know and understand each other.

Last year, the couple informed their families about their decision to get married. Nithiin says his family, especially his mother, was very happy.

Shalini’s parents are both doctors. Does she watch his films, we ask. “Yes, she watches my films,” says the actor. And not only does she watch them, but gives her honest opinion about them too,” he adds. For instance, after watching his Lie, she said she didn’t understand it, he shares.

Nithiin will be marrying Shalini at a destination wedding. Meanwhile, what plans for Valentine’s Day, we ask.

“Actually, I’ll be promoting Bheeshma and also shooting for two films simultaneously,” says Nithiin. “But, yes, I have to do something. I have nothing planned yet, I’ll do something spontaneously.”

Ups and downs on the work front

Professionally, Nithiin has been under pressure. He had a string of flops, and in 2019, he did not do any films. He says he was upset, but not down and out. He decided to take a break and concentrate on working on a script till he was satisfied. The result, Bheeshma, is releasing on February 21.

Ironically, Bheeshma is about the towering character in Mahabharata, a confirmed bachelor. The tagline is ‘Forever Single’. When news of his impending marriage became public, he came in for a lot of teasing from the director of the movie and friends because of the movie’s title and tagline, says Nithiin ruefully.

The actor says that he has a totally new look in Bheeshma. “It’s a complete entertainer and there are a lot of punchy dialogues and one-liners. The directors told me that they see a big change in my acting. But it’s for the audience to decide after the film’s release,” Nithiin says, adding that after a gap of six years, he had to dance a lot in the film.”

Meanwhile, Nithiin has signed five films, and is already working on three of them simultaneously. “Generally, I don’t do that, but I am confident about the directors,” he explains.

In one of the films, Rang De, directed by Venky Atluri, Nithiin is playing a college student. In another film directed by Chandrasekhar Yeleti, the actor is playing a prisoner. “Most of the shooting happens in a jail and it’s a completely different film,” he says.

It’s been a long journey for Nithiin after his first film, Jayam, released 18 years back. “There have been many ups and downs; I made a few mistakes and learnt from them. Whenever I was low, my family and friends stood by me and supported me,” he says.

Nithiin is also doing a remake of the Hindi hit film AndhaDhun. “It’s a risky project, because the original film has been seen by many people on the OTT platform. It also won National Award. So we are under pressure not to spoil the Telugu version. But we want to go with it because of the content. Merlapaka Gandhi is directing the film,” shares Nithiin.

His most challenging role however, is one that he’s yet to tackle. “Krishna Chaitayna came with a script titled Powerpeta, and in this film I am playing the most challenging role of my career till date. It’s a different subject.I will start work on it only after I complete my other films. It needs a different look and I can’t do any other film simultaneously” he explains.