JOIN USNot many actresses would opt for a de-glam look in their first movie. But that’s exactly what Nimrat Kaur did in ‘The Lunchbox’. It was quite a daring move, but she feels lucky to get her big break opposite actor Irrfan Khan.
“It’s been a very rewarding journey. What I had set out with as an ideology has really worked. I had never wanted a short-term career. I have always wanted longevity. I wanted to enrich myself as a person before I started acting. I believe actors have to be very sophisticated human beings — not that I am anywhere close to that,” she quips.
Her stint with the advertising industry got her recognition, but it was the big screen that was her ultimate goal.
“I knew that with advertising work, you really get sorted financially in a place like Mumbai. But it does not enrich you as a person; there is a vacuum that sets in. At that time, I knew that I needed to turn towards something deeper. So I turned to the stage. I have done a lot of stage work and have been associated with plays for six years now. I intend to do that for the rest of my life. Unlike popular belief, it was never a springboard to films. People don’t come to the theatre to cast for films — it’s a complete misconception that many have,” notes Nimrat.
This film has been very rewarding for her. Though it has been challenging, she is glad that she stuck to her passion.
Ask her why she chose to sport a non-glamourous look and she explains, “I would have murdered the script had I put on even a speck of make-up. I read the first few pages of the script and I knew that I just had to find a way to be as close to the person in the script as possible. The character that I portray does not take care of herself. She is a normal person but she is also loveless and neglected. It was a conscious effort and I had the luxury to work on it for three to four months. I had a lot of discussion on the script with director Ritesh Batra. Also, I cut myself off from a lot of people to translate that emotion on screen,” she adds.
“It has been really rewarding for me. Things like this happen to people once in a lifetime and I couldn’t have asked for a better ensemble to start off. The bar has been set very high for me. It’s going to be difficult to do something just for fun,” she says.
Bangalore is not unfamiliar to her. In fact, she comes here quite often.
“My sister stays in Bangalore since she is studying here. I have also performed at Rangashankara many times. I wish the traffic was better but the weather is lovely — it’s
European,” she states.
The actress feels that this is a transition point in her career and she does not want to rush into things.
Open to doing films from different countries, she feels that language is not a barrier for her.