Prank Call: Nikki Galrani Interview

“Nobody can be as retarded as me.”

Nikki Galrani, lead actress of the recently released Darling (also starring GV Prakash Kumar) tells me matter-of-factly.

It is the first in a series of confessions. The next one isn’t far behind.

“I used to detonate bombs in my classroom.”

She paces the room, readying herself for our photo-shoot.

We are at The Park Pod. A massive bed at the centre is strewn with a sea of clothes and accessories. It is where I find my perch, a tiny one, amid all the clutter.

At the moment though, I am unsure of what to make of this …confession.

“I am not kidding,” Galrani finally says, “I seriously tried to detonate a bomb in my classroom.”

As I continue to look nonplussed, “I have a good sense of humour too, I think. But I am really unpredictable, okay?”

Her words of caution do come in handy, for in the first 15 minutes of our conversation, Nikki Galrani meets all of them. She talks nineteen to the dozen.

And, can pull off a practical joke quite effortlessly. The more Nikki recounts her antics at school and college, the more I begin to worry that I am perhaps part of an elaborate prank.

She barely sits during our interview, striding across the room and shuffling her feet. She also jumps often. Despite the high heels.

“I am a firecracker,” Nikki squeals, “A super hyper chick.”

I continue to look bemused.

*****

The actress “pretty much” plays herself in Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka, the first Tamil film that she signed. “The character was written for me. The director told me that nobody else fit the role of a retarded person so well!”

She stops swaying for a moment.

“You do know that I am using the word ‘retarded’ in a good sense right?”

She doesn’t wait for my response. “I am really hyper and all that, but I am not harmful.”

Nikki sways more.

*****

On the sets of Darling, Nikki was a “stress-buster”. It is technically her second film, but was released first. While the team worked feverishly to finish the movie in 35 days, Nikki provided ‘comic relief’.

“I made them laugh. Through my non-stop talking, I alleviated their stress. They needed that,” she says proudly.

And no, Nikki had no apprehensions about wearing hideous make-up for her role of a ‘friendly ghost’, but she wasn’t confident about pulling it off. “I remember asking myself before the shoot, ‘you are scared of ghosts, how would you do it?’”

*****

Way before all of this though, Nikki Galrani was modelling for advertisements. She starred in 50 commercials over 10 months. Her acting debut happened last year – a Malayalam movie called 1983. She also finished shooting for nine films in 12 months. “I work hard because I want to be independent and busy. Once in a while, I find time to go home, and tell my parents that their younger daughter is still alive. I love life this way,” she says.

Isn’t she exhausted? “I told my parents that I would do what I want or run away from home,” is the characteristic reply. “I am incurably passionate about my job.”

Between shoots, the Bangalorean has also learned to converse in all south Indian languages. Yes, she’s watched a few Tamil movies, too. “Aboorva Sagodarargal was brilliant. It’s my all-time favourite.”

When we wrap up the photo-session, and are about to call it a day, Nikki insists on seeing our pictures.

Holding the heavy camera in her hand, she breaks into an impromptu song on seeing the images.

“I like! I like! I like!”

*****

The Nikki Galrani interview is a Silverscreen exclusive.