‘There should be at least one woman on the sets’: Nidhi Hegde

Actor Nidhi Hegde talks to DH about how she switched from beauty pageants to acting, and why women deserve better on the locations

Nidhi Hegde, who was last seen in the webseries ‘Marigallu’, began her journey in the industry with the anthology ‘Kathasangama’. She was also seen in a small but important role in ‘Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’. She will next be seen in ‘Ravana Rajyadalli Navadampathigalu’. Excerpts from an interview:

“I was a huge fan of Govinda.”

Nidhi grew up with a passion for acting. Growing up in the ’90s, she saw India winning all the major beauty pageants. That had an influence on her. “I was raised in Pune, so I was also heavily influenced by Bollywood,” she says. 

“I was a huge fan of Govinda,” she shares, adding that Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri and Paresh Rawal were some of her other favourite actors.  “Every time I saw them on screen, it was magical.” 

Nidhi enrolled in an acting course from Annapurna College of Film and Media in Hyderabad. “If we passed the auditions, we would get to act in grad films which were a great learning experience,” she shares. It was at Annapurna that Nidhi got to collaborate with Kannada filmmakers. In ‘Kathasangama’, she played a small role in one of the films called ‘Lacchavva’. She also worked as an assistant director for the film. “I believe there should be at least one woman on a set. There were absolutely no women on that team, but the protagonist was a woman. It was still a beautiful learning experience,” she shares. 

Nidhi’s favourite role is that of Ganapi from ‘Neeli Hakki’ (2021). It made it to film festivals but was never released in theatres. “She was so different from who I am. But I loved portraying her — a village girl with lofty ambitions. I also like my character in my upcoming film, ‘Ravana Rajyadalli Navadampathigalu’. I play an innocent girl who gets trapped with a cruel boy,” she says. 

“Access to caravan on set is still a major demand”

Even basic needs are met based on how big the actor is. “I’m still not considered a serious actor. I have done quite a few movies but unfortunately, the films have not yet seen the light of day. Basic needs like toilets and a safe space for costume changes are still considered huge demands. They say ‘she is throwing tantrums’. That is a huge challenge,” she says, adding, “Sometimes, I’m even scared to ask for a caravan.”

“Give me a character outline and I will choose the colours to paint it”

Talking about how she approaches a role, Nidhi says, “I follow the Meisner technique. I ask a lot of questions. I want the director to give me an outline of the character and my job as an actor is to choose the right colours to paint it. I cannot go beyond the lines that they have drawn.But the choice of colours is something I can make.” She does not go after too many references to give herself the chance to explore more. 

“Scripts over characters”

Nidhi priorises better scripts over better characters. Even if it is a minute role, she says it is alright as long as she likes the film as a whole. “My aim has always been to be a part of a good story rather than choosing a project based on a character. I like being a part of slice-of-life films. There is also a lot of scope for the actor to showcase their skills in such movies. It’s like the actor’s playground,” says Nidhi. Though she enjoys comedy, she feels it is a challenging genre for actors.

“Imtiaz Ali is my dream director”

She dreams of working with Imtiaz Ali. “‘Tamasha’ is one of my most
favourite films. His films are about the journey of a story and the impact the story has on people. And most importantly, I like how he treats his female characters,” she says.