Niharika NM: Yash was the first actor I collaborated with; I truly believe he is my lucky charm | Hindi Movie News
You are one of the most popular and fast-growing social media influencers we have currently. Did you anticipate this?
No, I definitely did not anticipate it. In fact, I thought just the opposite so I quit social media. I started making YouTube videos when I was a teenager. It just didn’t work out for me the way I thought it would. It didn’t seem like a stable career option for me. However, I started making videos again during the pandemic. They just caught on amongst the audience at a pace I never imagined they would and I am truly blessed and grateful for all the love that I have received. I am just having fun with it.
How has the landscape for content creators changed in recent times?
I feel like a lot has changed from what the whole creator economy was. Now, there is a creator economy. Back in 2015, when platforms like YouTube became very relevant in India, people were still unsure about it being an actual job or it being able to bring you actual income. I am sure a lot of people feel the same way even today. However, in my case, I have seen it from the absolute start. It has grown a lot to the point where we are already talking about the internet being saturated with content creators. I was one of the first waves of creators so it is just amazing to see how much the creator space has evolved. I believe this is just the beginning and there are another 10-20 years of content ahead. Post this I am not sure. Maybe robots will take over the world. But at least for the next two decades, I think we are good. The creators’ economy will flourish and thrive and hopefully, I won’t need another job!
If you had to choose one favourite from amongst your recent collaborations, which one would it be?
Honestly, all the collaborations I have done have been the best. It has all been an incredible experience. Creatively also I have been able to collaborate with actors. All of them have been involved in the creative process actively. The actors were equally excited and wanted the video to be perfect. It truly warms my heart because I just probably thought they wouldn’t care about a video on the internet. However, they really wanted their video to be the best among my other collaborations. That is one thing in common I have noticed about the actors that I have worked with.
Yash was the first actor I collaborated with and I truly believe he is my lucky charm. I am forever grateful to him for giving me the exclusive honour of making a video with him for ‘KGF’ which is a legendary movie in itself. My personal favourite will, however, be Vijay Deverakonda because he is just a sweetheart and I absolutely adore him.
If given an opportunity, would you like to try your hands in acting for real?
Yes, of course, I would. We are in a phase where if given an opportunity we would like to transition but I just don’t want to rush it and do something for the sake of doing it. I am just waiting for the right moment to transition from social media into something bigger. Hopefully, the next time you interview me I will have made the transition instead of still working on it.
Have you been a movie buff growing up? If yes, who did you idolise?
Yes absolutely! The perk of knowing multiple languages is that you get to consume content from multiple film industries. I grew up watching Tamil, Telugu, English and other movies. I think a huge part of my personality is based on all the movies that I watched growing up. My sense of humour comes from it. Whatever I am is an amalgamation of all the content that I consumed as a kid.
I had different idols in different languages and I think I have already worked with a couple of my idols. It has been a great journey. One of my idols was definitely Mahesh Babu. Then there is Aamir Khan whose films like ‘3 Idiots’ and ‘Taare Zameen Par’ have really made me think about what I was doing in my life and made me pivot in certain ways.
From amongst the current crop of actors, who do you think has a great potential?
I have always been an Allu Arjun fan. I think he is taking over the world right now. I am very excited for him. From the younger generations, I like Vijay Deverakonda. He has massive potential and I don’t need to say this about him. He is amazing. However, I also like niche actors like Adarsh Gourav who did ‘The White Tiger’. I think he is an incredible actor. I also really like Vijay Varma who did ‘Darlings’ and Ali Fazal who is in ‘Mirzapur’. I just think these actors just move the audience in ways that most actors aspire to.
There is a sea of content creators today. What would you say makes you stand apart?
I actually get asked a lot as to what makes me stand apart and I just go into a rabbit hole. Having said that, I think it is just my ability to be true to who I am and just be authentic irrespective of what the current trend may seem to indicate. I think I just stick to my guns and do what I like to do. I make the content that I like to consume instead of just giving in to whatever is working now for everyone else. That I think maybe makes me stand apart.
Do you plan to move to Mumbai any time soon?
Yes, I am currently in the process of getting out of that move. Hopefully, I should be fully figured out and moved in the next 2-3 months.
