Nimrat Kaur is one of those lucky few in the industry to have had a dream debut that found resonance among audiences around the world. Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox left its footprints at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and festivals around the word before scoring at the Bollywood box office as well.
One wonders though what took her so long to sign her second film, Airlift. “I wasn’t consciously staying away from anything. It was a series of things after The Lunchbox released. First, I got busy promoting the film internationally. And then Homeland came about. And while I was filming for that, I signed Airlift. Ideally, I would have loved to have at least one release between The Lunchbox and Airlift but it’s something that was unintentional.
It’s not often that we get to hear of a one-film old actor getting roped in by an international banner. As she sips on her coffee, the Homeland actress lets us in on a secret. “I didn’t know what Homeland was when I had auditioned for it. I gathered from the reaction of the people around me that how huge it actually was. I was rehearsing my lines in London before my audition, my cousin saw the word ‘Homeland’ written on the script and let out a deafening scream. I was like, ‘Why are you going crazy on me? Relax, it’s just a screen test tomorrow and I don’t know what’s going to happen.’
Later when I got the part people around me were ecstatic. And that’s when I realised, ‘Okay, this is something to reckon with’. When I went to Cape Town to shoot for it is when I saw the series. I was emotionally all over the place, completely out of my comfort zone and it was a mess. But then, within weeks it sucks you in, in a way, that it becomes difficult to pull yourself out of it. It’s so enriching to be in a team like that. It was an incredible experience.”
Like many others, Nimrat, too, is in complete awe of the way the industry in the West works. “Time was everything on the sets of Homeland. People respected their time as well as other’s. Everybody, down to the smallest cog in the wheel, knew their job and you couldn’t point a finger at anyone for inefficiency. That is something I feel we can really learn — the time management and delegation of tasks. I am a stickler for organised functioning. So you observe those things and want some of that in every working environment. But I feel we, as a culture, are very warm and adjusting. And that is something I did miss there. We are more emotionally driven,” she says.
Films were not part of her growing up days at all. In fact, Nimrat learnt to battle tragedy very early on in life after she lost her father, who was an engineer, in a Kashmir attack. On January 23 this year, it will be 22 years since his demise, she tells us.
“My dad had left for work on January 17 and he was abducted along with his driver by a group of militants. I was 11 at that time. They took him around from one place to another on foot for seven days before shooting him dead. Quite honestly, no amount of compensation or gallantry awards can really make up for what one has lost. My mother has been very courageous through it all. She ensured me and my sister had a normal childhood and never used this tragedy as an emotional crutch of sorts. That is very important. You can always wallow in self-pity and keep asking yourself ‘why me’. But there’s no answer to that. What you do about it is what makes you the person you are,” Nimrat says.
And she has indeed worked wonders for herself, especially on the career front. Right now she cannot wait for Airlift to release, as soon after that she will be heading to Delhi where her sister ties the knot next month.
On the work front, Nimrat says, she never laid out a set of dos and don’ts for herself. “For instance, if I were to wear a bikini for a role, I have to know why would I be wearing it. It can’t be because I want to look hot. I know there are a lot of other people who will carry it with far more flair and make it look good. So when you make that kind of choice it has to be for the right reason. I am not someone who says no to anything. I treat things without judging them. When you do it for the right reason, it turns out right. And my family will be okay with whatever I am happy about.”
Speaking of her experience of working with a superstar like Akshay, Nimrat says that admires him for many reasons, and especially for how he manages to stay on top of the fitness game.
“I don’t obsess about having a diet, but one needs to find a balance. I wouldn’t want to treat my body carelessly. There are times when I cut down on everything and there are days when I go easy. It’s good to stay healthy and staying with Akshay for one year on a set has taught me exactly that. His discipline is on another level.”
