Last year when Nivetha Thomas made her debut in Telugu with Indraganti Mohan Krishna’s Gentleman, it didn’t take too long for the audiences to realise that they had found a phenomenal talent to root for. Cut to July, 2017 — Nivetha Thomas showed, yet again, why she’s among the finest actresses in contemporary Telugu cinema.
Ever since Shiva Nirvana’s Ninnu Kori released, the actress has been flooded with congratulatory messages from both film fraternity and viewers alike. For her, it’s been a tad bit overwhelming too, especially when people compared her to yesteryear icons like Soundarya among others, and Nivetha confesses that she’s slowly coming to terms with it. “I’m happy that the film has become a huge success; however, the bigger thrill, for me, is that all of us in the film have earned a lot of respect from the industry and audience alike.
That’s why I’m so content the whole experience. Right from the day we began shooting, we knew that it was going to be special film for all of us,” Nivetha says. It’s the second time that she has paired up with Nani, who went on record to say that Nivetha is one of the finest actresses in the industry today.
Ask Nivetha about the equation with her co-star, she recalls having plenty of conversations with him about her character, which came in quite handy during the shoot.
“He has been very encouraging right from the beginning. When Shiva Nirvana told me about my character (Pallavi), it took me a while to become her in Ninnu Kori. I got to know more about her and how she should be through my discussions with Nani, Aadhi and Shiva,” she says, adding, “When I think about Pallavi, she’s a very innocent girl in the beginning and she hasn’t seen the world yet. But that doesn’t mean that she’s dumb. And I, certainly, didn’t have any disagreements about she should be. It was a process of discovery for me.”
With both her films pitching her as a performer to reckon with, Nivetha has already set a high standard for herself and also raised the expectations among the moviegoers.
However, she clarifies that she isn’t under any pressure for now. “Trust me when I say this, I’m my harshest critic (laughs). Although I don’t overthink or over-analyse everything, I really want to achieve a certain level of perfection with every role I take up. I want to continue doing good work and be happy with whatever I take up,” Nivetha admits.
So, does this mean that she’s going to surprise everyone with every film? “I hope I keep surprising myself and the audience until my last breath (laughs). But there’s no plan or a strategy as such. The fact that a film like Ninnu Kori can make people so emotional is quite gratifying. I’ve had a lot of people walking up to me, after watching the film, but unable to speak more than just few words because they were so emotional. You can see it in their eyes that they have accepted you as one of their own and want you to do good work,” she avers.
Nivetha is all praise for Aadhi Pinisetty, who played her husband in the film, and says that she was quite surprised by his transformation post Sarrainodu. “I hadn’t watched that film (Sarrainodu) before we started shooting Ninnu Kori, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much Aadhi had changed. It’s not easy to be that subtle and he has done a terrific job. I had a wonderful time working with him.”
Of late, she has been shooting for Jr NTR-starrer Jai Lava Kusa, a film which has already piqued people’s interest. Directed by KS Ravindra, the film has NTR playing triple roles, apart from Nivetha and Raashi Khanna.
“I’m a big fan of Tarak and when this opportunity came up, a lot of well-wishers convinced me to take up. This is quite different from what I’ve done in my previous films and hopefully, this too will be a big surprise for the audience,” Nivetha signs off.