I love growth in life : Nigar Khan

Nigar Khan is one actress who can be introduced in many ways. She is known as the actress who made her debut and got her foothold in television with her first serial Lipstick on Zee. She is also known as the pretty actress who was seen in successful serials like India Calling, Ayushman, Hum Do Hain Na, Jeet, Ek Ladki Anjani Si, Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai. And of course, she can also be introduced as Gauhar Khan’s elder sister. Whatever it may be, there is no denying the fact that you cannot ignore Nigar Khan. Tellychakkar spoke to this sultry seductress about her current show, the comedy business and, of course, sister Gauhar Khan. It has been close to nine years since you quit modelling. Do you miss those days? Oh my God…has it been so long? I never realised that. This perhaps also means that I am not missing my modelling career too much. I am happy about the way my television career is progressing and it was a conscious decision to opt for this. I feel, modelling becomes monotonous for us beyond a point. It does not offer the variety and growth that a career in acting gives. And I love growth. When I started acting, I was worse than a greenhorn. I didn’t even know how to face the camera. But when the director (of Lipstick) gave me a brief of the role, I felt I should give it a try. I was interested. I said ‘Yes’, but also admitted that I had no experience in acting. The director told me that he was fine with it and I need not worry about my lack of experience. The rest is something all of you know. Lipstick did give me the foothold in this industry as an actress. You have won this season of Comedy Circus. How was the experience? It was truly amazing. Frankly, I did not expect to win the show. A large share of the credit goes to my partner Raja. In fact, I was quite surprised when I was offered this show. Comedy is really serious business. More so, in today’s life where we have plenty of reasons to be sad. So, I took up the show as a challenge. We were lucky to get such positive feedback from the judges all the time. No other team got full points like us and I do not remember a single act where we have not got an applause. It was really very encouraging. Personaly, I like the bhoot episode where I portrayed the heroine of a Ramsay film. It has done one very good thing to my career – people know that Nigar can go beyond negative roles. Tell us something about your character in Mitwa Phool Kamal Ka. What made you agree to this show? Contrary to what people feel, I don’t think the role I am playing (Rajbala) is that of an antagonist. Rajbala is the eldest bahu of the family, very pretty and full of pride. She knows that she has given the family its chirag. She loves to impress with various rituals and knows that her in-laws are very happy about her and takes advantage of that fully. I took a break of eight months after Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai and Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina (dance reality show in Colors). I was bored doing the same negative character again and again. I have done that for nearly 15 shows now so when Rajbala’s character came my way, I grabbed the opportunity. I wanted to show the world that there is more to me than a vamp. Did you do anything special while preparing for this role? Well…the major preparation was for the change in my looks! When I saw myself as Rajbala, I realised that I can look traditional too! Also, the language we are speaking in this show is a special dialect used in a few places of Uttar Pradesh. For example, I have never heard of any language where we say Pitai, Matai, etc. We had to attend a five-day workshop for the show and it was really very helpful. Since our director Arvind Babbal hails from Uttar Pradesh, it helped us more. Since you are working in a show on gender bias, racism and cast, what are your thoughts about that? I am an urban girl and have never experienced anything like that in my life. But yes, it does exist in our country. When I was shooting for this show in Allahabad and Varanasi, I have seen the women on the road and how they are dressed. I also had to travel in a salwar-kameez and was afraid to go to the washrooms while travelling by road. Don’t know why, but it was not very comfortable. I have heard how women are treated in the villages and not allowed to touch their husbands. I belong to a city like Pune so for me it was very hard to digest. India still needs growth. Isn’t it difficult for you to carry this heavy attire (loads of jewellery, heavy saree and a veil) in the scorching May heat? You bet! I am dressed like a Christmas tree, and we were shooting when the mercury hit 45’C. And there was a time when I just could not take the heat. But I remembered something that I had heard about Amitabh Bachhan. When he was shooting for Aankhri Rasta, he was wearing a quilt. It was hot and even after the shots, he used to sit around with the quilt. When asked about the reason, he replied, ‘This way I don’t even think about the heat. The more you think about it, the more you will suffer.’ Your take on Gauhar’s performance in Jhalak… Oh yes! I do feel she is the best dancer of this season. But sadly, the format is based on public polling. Gauhar is an emotional child and she is also like my bachha. Being the elder sister, very often, I play mother to her! There is not even a single episode of her which I missed. We are more buddies then sisters. We are both very lucky to have parents like ours. They have given us immense freedom and we have not misused that. Gauhar has become more steady now. But I don’t think she is going to do daily soaps on television. Any plans on settling down? As I said my parents are very approachable and we are very frank with them. I don’t have any pressure for getting settled down at any particular age. Right now I am married to my work. I have great friends in my life who are my driving forces and I have a cat at home who is a darling.