Nimrat Kaur’s strong image reflects not only through the spirited characters she plays on screen but also by the way she makes herself heard off it. “I have to stop this interview if there is no silence in the room,” declares Nimrat as she settles down for a conversation. She blows her nose, takes a deep breath before a genial smile returns to her face. “I want to do work which I would like to watch as an audience,” says the actor, who was in the Capital to talk about her web series The Test Case on AltBalaji where she is playing Shikha Sharma, a commando of Indian Army. “I think as a celebrity it is necessary to be relevant and current. You have to be interesting for the people to know about. That is why you cannot be dependant on a single medium; you have to reach out to every avenue possible and there are a plethora of opportunities available these days.”
Since her debut in the industry in 2012, she has starred in two international TV dramas, various commercials and The Test Case is her first web series, but for her, there is no difference in approach. “Just because it is a web series, we cannot approach it casually. There was nothing different in terms of treatment and the commitment towards the project as everything was done with passion and determination. At the end of the day, it is a story which we are going to tell and the medium does not change anything,” maintains Nimrat.
Playing a commando was tough for her though her army background helped her in understanding the process. “I would often find myself correcting ranks of my co-actors. It was a reminder of all my childhood days as I grew up in cantonments admiring the beauty of the army environment,” chuckles Nimrat. There are noticeable traits, which separate a civilian from an army personnel and Nimrat knows them well. “I was checking my co-actors’ body language and that was happening by instinct I was very familiar with the vocabulary of the environment, space and habits as I am used to be surrounded by people in uniform. Many times, I would look at the actors and think that they are much similar to those uncles I used to meet in my childhood,” reflects Nimrat.
Rigorous training
However, she doesn’t pursue that lifestyle in her real life. “I am not as disciplined in my real life. When it comes to fitness as one requires to be extremely fit in the army and especially in the special forces, I became habitual to it as I went through rigorous physical training for months and I have now kept it up for almost a year. It has been a really tough but energising process and I am happy that it stayed with me,” she says.
Starting from theatre circuit in Delhi, she has worked in every medium possible and is very excited as well as impatient for the work being offered to her as well . “I want to be able to entertain the audience in whichever way I can,” she states. Known for her role of a lonely housewife Ila in The Lunchbox and Akshay Kumar’s wife in Airlift, she asserts that she wants to remain as versatile as possible and does not want to be seen in a particular light. “Though they both were housewives they were very different roles and there were no similarities between them. To me, they were not two housewives but two individuals with unique characteristics and mannerisms” contends Nimrat.
At 35, she is definitely clear on what to choose. Starting her journey with Vasan Bala’s Peddlers, she manages to find a perfect balance in scheduling one project after another. But for her, that is just a coincidence! “Right after the release of Lunchbox , I did Homeland which took me to South Africa for almost six months. Immediately after that, Airlift happened, which took almost a year to shoot. In a small period of time, I was roped in for Wayward Pines and post that I was shooting for The Test Case . So I had little but slightly longer engagements. I did not work as much I would have liked to but it is just a coincidence and I would like to work much more,” maintains Nimrat.
Reacting on multiple revelations of sexual abuse in showbiz, she points out that sexism exists not only in the film industry but in every industry and every profession. “It is more like a power and status game. Men continue to exploit because women do not say anything against discrimination and sexually unpleasant environment. The good thing about occasions where women come out in public is men are at least thinking before committing anything which was not the case earlier.”
