Sharing the frame with acting aces like Akshay, Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn was a surreal experience for Niharica. “All three of them are fitness savvy, like Akshay Kumar is known to be a teetotaler, Ranveer Singh has a totally different kind of body type and Ajay Devgn is an old school person. So when you have these three role models in front of you, the sets were pretty charged with energy. The atmosphere was pretty exciting and exhilarating. It was really nice to be able to be a part of that kind of a sort of brotherhood, which they share. I was mesmerized by the whole atmosphere,” gushed Niharica.
Soon after she signed up for the role, Niharica Raizada underwent a lot of functional gym training to achieve the built of a cop. Praising her director Rohit Shetty, she added, “What I picked up from Rohit Shetty is that ‘apne kaam se kaam rakho’. You have to be brief, to the point and he doesn’t spend time gossiping. You have to be focused on the sets. You have to know that you are hired for a certain job and you have to do it well.” Ask her about sharing the stage with Akshay Kumar and Niharica quipped, “Akshay Kumar has a lot of fun on his sets and he is a very happy go lucky man. On the sets people should be in line, but Akshay Kumar is always out of line, he is a firebrand. He is
mastikhor and I’ve shared a lot of screen space with him. He greets everybody on the sets and would crack jokes. He likes to pull people’s leg and it is always fun with him.”
Niharica Raizada is granddaughter of former Bollywood musician OP Nayyar and was crowned Miss India UK in 2010. She has previously featured in Bollywood hits like ‘Masaan’ and ‘Total Dhamaal’. Despite loads of auditions and hard work, the actress feels that cracking into the film industry is indeed very difficult. “I think it’s really tough when you don’t a support network. It’s not about running to somebody for help but you do have days when you doubt yourself, right? You ask yourself should I be doing this? Why am I not cracking my auditions and stuff? So those days you need a good support system, you need a shoulder to cry on. What I really feel is the difference between people who really make it very far and who don’t is that they have a great support system, from within the film industry who boost your confidence. And otherwise you can have your friends or family who just never let you ever get into a dark corner. In this film industry, you will always need a friend. I personally think, from the film industry, Karan Johar is one friend everyone must have. I know I’m generalizing, but everybody needs one Karan Johar in their life, even if it’s not monetarily or project wise but just as a shoulder to cry on,” said Niharica Raizada.
When we asked her to name that one project which she dearly auditioned for and did not work out, Niharica Raizada revealed, “I really thought I would get ‘Befikre’. I had I auditioned for the lead role and it was an amazing one. They wanted a girl who spoke French and I speak the language fluently. I genuinely thought I would get that role because I don’t know anybody who speaks French as fluently as I do here. I didn’t get the role but it was amazing to be able to just audition too.”
