Actor Nandini Vaid is Delhi’s latest export to Bollywood. She chats with Karan Bhardwaj on her debut in Vikram Bhatt’s next
After Mumbai, it is Delhi which gives Bollywood maximum number of fresh faces each year. Come August, another Delhi girl Nandini Vaid will debut in tinsel town with Vikram Bhatt’s The Horror Story. It is a tale of seven friends who enter a haunted place for a thrilling experience. For Vaid, the film happened all of a sudden. “The production house had shortlisted a few faces. I was called for auditions in February and was informed that they would start shooting in the next five days. I was shocked,” said the 25-year-old actor, who was one of the top ten finalists at Femina Miss India 2009. “There were strenuous rounds of auditions one after the other. Once I was back, they called me the same evening. Director Ayush Raina explained to me a scene extensively and I enacted it for three hours. It was emotionally draining since it had too many shades,” she told us.
On film and her character, she informed, “I am playing Soniya. She is quite vulnerable. The shooting days were a reminder of my college days. We had fun on the sets. There were a couple of scenes where I was stuck in a situation where I had to change my body language number of times. It was challenging for a newcomer like me.”
The actor doesn’t mince words on Vikram Bhatt. “He is a walking encyclopedia on films. Everyone on the sets including the director is fresh. He was the only guiding force. I was stunned to see his knowledge on cinema, be it new or old. He started coming on sets when half of the film was shot but he helped us a lot,” she said. She was elated to share her success story. “I was always inclined towards cinema. I have been modelling for a while but I wanted to discover more. After spending some time in modelling, you feel like stepping into films and expand the horizon,” she said.
Vaid’s father is a retired Colonel so she has travelled a lot. She completed her PG in mass communication from Amity University before shifting to Mumbai. Does she miss DelhiIJ “Honestly, I am more of a Mumbai person now. I have adapted well to the city. Also, I have travelled since my father is a military man. But whenever I get even a two-day off, I rush back to Delhi to meet my friends and family,” she shared. She is at present gearing up for film’s dubbing. “The film is in post-production stage. I will start dubbing my part from July 9. It is expected to release next month,” she said.
In her free time, she likes to do yoga and she also writes. “My mother is a book publisher. So I was always surrounded by books. I grew up reading lot of children books.” If not acting, would you have opted for writingIJ “No! I would have got into direction. I am totally a filmy person. I would love to direct a film one day,” she said adding that she looks up to Priyanka Chopra as her inspiration. “The way she has shaped her career is outstanding. She started as a model, then got the glory. From actor to singer to performer, she is fabulous,” she said.