When your intention is right and you want to tell a story with commitment and authenticity at the core of it, then the medium doesn’t really matter, says Nimrat Kaur. By Angela Paljor
This is my story sir. And there is only one hero in this story and that’s me,” says Shikha Sharma in the trailer for Vinay Waikul and Nagesh Kukunoor’s web series The Test Case. Nimrat Kaur essays the character of Sharma who is the only woman to be enrolled in the Special Forces Training Centre and dreams of becoming the first female commandant of the force.
After portraying Rebecca Yedlin in the second season of the American television series, Wayward Pines, Kaur has made her way back to the Indian entertainment industry with the series. “The first hook for me was the story. When I was given a one line narration of the story; without a second thought of it being a web series and not a feature film, I said yes. Once I got to know about the way they are going to put it together and the team that was going to construct it, there was no hesitation,” says Kaur who confesses to not being a tech-savvy and being unaware of how the online medium works.
“I know that when your intention is right and you want to tell a story with commitment and authenticity at the core of it then the medium doesn’t really matter, people will consume it. Web series is something that is delivered right at your door steps — one can be waiting at the bus stop, lying on the bed or running a store, yet one has the liberty to watch what one chooses to. Thus, the very aspect of content being at one’s disposal is something that I found really attractive,” adds Kaur who began her career as a print model and went on to act in theatre. After brief appearances in a few films, she starred in Anurag Kashyap’s production Peddlers, which was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She followed it with her breakthrough role in The lunchbox, a critically acclaimed drama co-starring Irrfan Khan, which was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, she played the recurring role of Inter-Services Intelligence agent Tasneem Qureshi in the fourth season of Homeland. She then co-starred with Akshay Kumar in the war thriller Airlift.
Coming from an Army background (her father is an ex-Indian Army officer) Kaur understands the nuances so well and could adapt the body language with ease. However, she physically transformed herself for the role and followed a strict fitness regime to have an athletic body. “It’s practically impossible to have the fitness level similar to a Special Forces’ Commando in a matter of few months, but I gave my best to come as close to it. Thus, justifying my role as a Commando in that given situation.”
To authenticate her character on camera, the lady with a sweet tooth had to give up a lot. “I signed up for various rigorous fitness regimes — functional training, running, even recovery days were active, where I had to go swimming, do yoga or go for deep tissue massages. In case of Special Forces, the training one undergoes is to build up endurance, resilience and combat the high stress situations to go through the worst possible situations, fight the war and win it. Something one can’t even imagine or do justice to, but we did try,” shares Kaur who felt the emotional pressure building up during the production. “I have heard of actors fainting on the sets but I never experienced it. So the day we were shooting the climax, it was both emotionally and mentally draining. I had a major meltdown on the set — my blood pressure dropped and I was close to fainting,” adds Kaur who feels that physically the project was excessively demanding and it did take a toll on her.
Growing up in a family associated with the Army, Kaur always wanted to be an officer as she was used to seeing her father putting on the uniform and leave for work everyday. “I thought there was no other better profession in the world because you got to wear a gorgeous uniform, had shiny ranks on and your shoes were shining everyday. I thought this was just the best, most glamorous job on this planet until I grew up and realised how difficult it actually was. So, maybe if I was not an actor, I would have definitely been in the army.”
When it comes to scripts, Kaur not only looks for a new element but also looks at it from the perspective of the audience. “I always read a script through the eyes of the audience. Would I as an audience like to watch the filmIJ The Test case ticked all the boxes — action was something I never tried, an idea that hasn’t been ever explored — an Army officer played by a female and a whole story revolving around her. A first of it’s kind in every way.” Kaur, who has worked in only two Bollywood feature films, feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in a project as The Test Case, that indeed was a test for her in terms of being an actor.
It has been some time since female oriented films are giving a one-on-one competition to
the male oriented films. “It’s a very large issue to address,” says Kaur, who as part of the entertainment industry, strongly believes in bringing forth subjects that can be a mirror to the society. “We have seen films for ages — from Umrao Jaan (1981) to Guide (1961), a film that came at a time that nobody expected to portray an actress in a grey light — breaking social norms. But we need space for people to write about women of different shades, where everyone is celebrated for their individuality rather than showing a certain kind of women.” Thus, there is a need to develop one’s mentality in a progressive manner. “As artists, we have the responsibility to bring forth stories that will inspire boys too. So, when they watch us, they feel obliged to give the same opportunity to their daughter, sister or wife.”
Photo: Pankaj Kumar