Jaguar Nikhil Rarin' to go
All eyes are trained on this new hero in town. The son of a politician, producer and distributor Kumaraswamy, Nikhil Kumar, chose to be an actor and a passionate one at that. His father is producing his debut movie, Jaguar, and it has been all the talk for a while now.
As the D Day approaches, City Express catches a quick chat with Nikhil. He appears confident, prepared for the rapid interviews that are part of the glamour, and says that Jaguar made in Kannada and Telugu is a result of hard work and passion. “The team and I have given the best product,” he says. “Today I can talk about cinema because I have some knowledge about it, though it is a learning process till we stop. From whatever I have learnt so far, I have understood the technicalities of a script, screenplay and how it keeps changing. We need to think smart for this generation. It is not easy to make a movie click with the audience, we have to keep getting better and that requires a good amount of experience.”
Nikhil knows that life will change after this Thursday. “Though my father is a producer, nobody in the family is an artiste,” he says. “So acting was a challenge for me. I worked really hard for one and-a-half-years for Jaguar.”
Nikhil says a celebrity family comes with its own burden. “We can’t take anything lightly in life... I never do,” he says. “There is so much expectation from me. I know people talk behind my back saying, ‘This guy is so lucky’. But I would like to tell them that coming from celebrity families, there is an added pressure, I have tried to work around it. We have to calm down and keep going with confidence. My father being the producer, we have a responsibility to the people in the state to give the best product... and I have honestly put my best effort to meet the expectations. But the pressure seems to lift the moment I face the camera. I believe in letting myself free. I believe in acting and leave the rest to people, who may or may not accept me.”
The trailers and teasers have been impressive, but Nikhil is not satisfied. “There is so much more to see in the movie. People always question our acting skills and they cannot make out much of that through teasers and trailers. Dance and fights are commercial necessities, to keep the crowds happy and which I have done. But throughout the film, I have focussed on acting and the trailer gives only a glimpse of it. So whenever people rave about my trailers, I say ‘wait’. Like the cinema dialogue Picture abhi baki hai,” he says.
He hasn’t seen himself on a big screen yet and so plans to watch the first show with the audience. “Even my grandfather (HD Deve Gowda) is curious about where the film will be screened, I hope he can watch it with me at a regular theatre,” he says.
Nikhil is obviously happy to be here, saying he is in the best place today and cinema has become his world and that he is enjoying it thoroughly. “I am so happy, if not this, I don’t know what I would have done. This is the best time I have had in my life. I could have been politics or worked in the channel, but I am not an easy-going person. I wanted to create something of my own. I have been searching for it for all these years and I have found it now,” he says.
“I don’t think I can do for my children all that my father has done for me. If I survive as a hero in this industry that would be the best gift I can ever for him. During the filmmaking, he was there with me every minute of the day. Despite his political problems, he ensured that he was by my side. So my first film Jaguar is dedicated to my father,” he signs off.