If there is one thing that actors Richa Chadda and Nikhil Dwivedi exude, it is confidence. The duo will appear in Tamanchey releasing next month. They have uplifting tales of triumph from adversity.
Here in Bangalore to walk the ramp for designer Archana Kochar at the Bangalore Fashion Week Nikhil and Richa say: “This is the first city in India where we are sort-of promoting Tamanchey.” “Bangalore is very cosmopolitan and is a major market for us,” Nikhil says and Richa adds: “I think there are all kinds of people here. No one restricts themselves. But the product has to be good since the audience here is very sharp and smart.”
On the name of their movie, Nikhil explains that tamanchey are indigenous and locally-manufactured pistols in the Hindi heartland of UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. “They are katta aur tamanchey , which are pistols that you get for Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 and you can only fire them once. The characters are as feisty and fast as these pistols.”
Richa had an injury and got surgery done on her knee during the shoot. Nikhil quips: “That’s why the film is going to be a hit.” Richa pitches in and says: “It was a huge learning experience for me. I grew up on this film. It was difficult to shoot and a difficult character to pull off. Everyone thinks we are pampered. But films are tough.”
Drawing a line between their real and reel characters, Nikhil and Richa say “They are twisted and fall in love. They are not doing things that we would traditionally expect leads of a film to do. It’s very unusual and the challenge was to make the audience like us.”
Amid wisecracks and serious health advice on the ill-effects of sugar from Nikhil, there is talk of what draws them to a project. “I knew it was a good story. The idea had a certain rustic sense which was appealing. Love stories are always about two good people. What happens to a love story of two bad people? Both like crime and end up in love with each other. When you are a criminal, your psyche makes you not trust anyone. The Jai-Veeru combo happens only in movies. Reality is tougher. So what happens at the moment of truth? You will know if you watch the film,” says Nikhil. He adds: “It is a joyride for the two leading characters, but not in the conventional sense. They have every right to fall in love and they do. And when they do – is there redemption for them?”
Nikhil and Richa started their career in 2008 with unsuccessful films. Nikhil says “After My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves didn’t work, it became tougher, as good stories never came. But I’m still here. Many who came in 2008-09 are not around.” He adds that though Richa feels her debut film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was a bad start, all the films she got so far is because of the film.
Nikhil goes into rewind mode as he invokes the Big B who endured 11 flops before striking gold with Zanjeer. “It wasn’t Zanjeer that brought him success. Director Prakash Mehra cast him for Zanjeer after seeing him in two movies that had flopped. Amitabh’s biggest flops led him to the movie that made his career. If it wasn’t for our failures, we wouldn’t have come so far. So no work is insignificant.”
