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Actress Nikki Aneja Vahlia opens up about her entry into the film industry despite wanting to be a pilot. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, she recalled how ‘uncomfortable’ she was while shooting for her debut film Mr. Azad in 1994. Here’s what he said. (Also read: Nikki Aneja on comparison with Madhuri Dixit: I even get to hear that I look better than her)
‘Compromise, what’s the problem?’
In the interview, Nikki said that she always wanted to be a pilot and studied aviation in Houston, Texas. But when her father Narayan Aneja refused to fund her education, her cousin Parmeet Sethi suggested she try modeling to earn money. Soon after, Pahlaj Nihalani offered her her first film and she said yes only because the film was opposite Anil Kapoor.
But Nikki says her father, who owned a studio, was always against her working in the film industry because ‘there was a lot of casting couch at that time.’ The actress, who was just 19, felt her dreams were crushed when she felt ‘bullied’ and ‘objectified’ on the sets of the film, especially during the outdoor shoot in Ooty.
“I didn’t like the way I was being talked about…almost objectifying. I started feeling uncomfortable when I was not treated well. I realized there was more to acting, like the casting couch. He said you compromise, what is the problem? (You have to compromise; what’s the point?) I don’t agree with this at all. I was being asked to dine with the distributors. I asked Pahlaj ji why are you asking this? He said, don’t you want to sell the picture? (Don’t you want to sell the film) They were like, we have to do it; Karna hi hai (You have to do it),” Nikki recalled.
The actor also recalled the question that despite Anil being there, why did Pahlaj need her to sell the picture, which made her ‘infamous’ on the sets. He said that if his father had not taken the loan while he was dying and he had not had a good experience on the sets of Yes Boss with Shahrukh Khan, he would have given up acting after this experience.
About Niki Aneja
Nikki married Soni Walia in February 2002 and moved to the UK after working in the film and TV industry for a few years. She has acted in shows like Baat Ban Jaaye, Dastaan, Astitva…Ek Prem Kahani and Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara and films like Shaandaar, Double XL and Niyat. Before venturing into acting, Nikki was runner-up at Miss World University in 1991, which resulted in her being made the World Ambassador for Peace from 1991–1992.
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