Nimrat Kaur, who played an ISI agent in the American hit TV series Homeland, has what it takes to be an actor: versatility. She was last seen in Dasvi in 2022, a social satire on the importance of education. The light-hearted film gave her an epiphany. Known as a ‘serious and intense’ actor with films such as Airlift and The Lunchbox, she had been wanting to break out of the mould. That is until she was offered School of Lies. The thriller web series, currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar, follows an investigation after a 12-year-old boy goes missing from a private boarding school. Nimrat plays the school counsellor. “School of Lies was so compelling, I couldn’t refuse it. It is a thought-provoking story about uncomfortable truths and inconvenient realities that we brush under the carpet. And, sometimes you need an art form in order to present them,” says the actor.
Working with the project’s director Avinash Arun, best known for the web series, Paatal Lok, and the National Award-winning Marathi film, Killa (2014) was a definite draw. “I had watched the film, and sometimes one piece of work is enough to know that you want to collaborate. You want to be part of their creative energy because it will make a difference to your own set of skills. Avinash is so many things rolled into one,” she says about the filmmaker, who has worked as a cinematographer for Masaan, Love per Square Foot, Karwaan, Drishyam, Hichki and Madaari.
There is a new skill learned every day in the world of acting. The 41-year-old had to navigate working with a group of children during the shooting of School of Lies. “As a counsellor, I was constantly observing them. I had to be on my toes because with kids, you don’t know what to expect. It was
a deep-dive into a psychology that you don’t often interact with,” she says, adding, “All of them were cast to perfection. Despite many of them being first-timers, they were competent and would always ask if their shot was okay.”
Before landing her breakthrough film, The Lunchbox, a decade ago, Nimrat did a few supporting roles here and there—Yahaan, Peddlers and Luv Shuv tey Chicken Khurana. Her portrayal of Tasneem Qureshi in Homeland was praised for its complexity and nuance. Dasvi marked her return to Hindi films after a gap of six years since Airlift in 2016. An OTT release, Nimrat’s transformation from a meek wife of a politician to taking charge as the chief minister was equal parts amusing and inspiring.The sabbatical in between, the actor says, was a conscious decision, as she wanted to reinvent herself. During that time, she refused umpteen roles in search of “something right”.
The idiosyncrasies of characters notwithstanding, Nimrat adopts a fundamental approach towards her craft. “Just be present in the project without any worldly distractions,” she says, adding, “I surrender completely to the writing. Actors are the messengers. We have to lend ourselves to the story.” But, if she had to pick, her favourite genre would be action. “I did a lot of it in The Test Case (a 2017 web series). I am an active person, who has grown up playing on grounds, climbing trees (in Patiala, where she grew up). I want to keep doing that,” she laughs. Nimrat will be next seen in social thriller Happy Teachers’ Day, followed
by courtroom drama, Section 84, where she stars alongside Amitabh Bachchan. Now that’s a Big Be.