Talented actor Nishant Malkani, known for his body of work in the small as well as big screen, is all set for a huge comeback with ALT Balaji’s upcoming web-series, Ragini MMS 2.2.
The web-series which has been co-produced by Vikas Gupta is of the genre horrex (horror cum sex) and has Riya Sen, Karishma Sharma, Nishant Malkani and Siddharth Gupta in central roles.
Nishant who plays the role of Raj, the guy who is extremely in love with Simran (Riya Sen) feels, “Web is the next big thing in entertainment. And this is a big comeback for me. And the best part is that it is being made by Balaji Telefilms and Vikas Gupta. Also, I am paired opposite the most beautiful girl, Riya Sen. What more can I ask for?”
The love story of Raj and Simran will have a cutting edge and an element of thrill and horror with the character of Nishant being haunted by a ghost. “Yes, from the very first episode, a certain thing about our relationship (Raj and Simran) will get revealed, but I don’t want to spoil the fun by revealing that. All I can tell you is that Raj will be haunted by a ghost and Simran will be hell-bent in saving him. Also, there will be a young college based love story too shown, with Siddharth and Karishma. There will be two parallel love stories happening with the ghost trying to kill everyone.”
Ask Nishant about the SRK-Kajol connection from DDLJ with their onscreen names being Raj and Simran and he quips, “The similarity begins and ends with the name. There is nothing similar to Raj and Simran of DDLJ in this web-series except the names. I also found it funny when I heard it, and the music of SRK playing his musical instrument played in my mind. But there was nothing of a similarity in this case.”
Nishant, who has done TV shows like Miley Jab Hum Tum, Sasural Genda Phool, Ram Milayi Jodi, has a chocolate boy image on TV. On him trying to break the shackles of his earlier image with this steamy, full-of-romance avatar of his in the web-series, Nishant explains, “Even in this, my image is of a nice boy. At the same time, since this is a web-series, especially an adult one, the angle of physical relationships is shown. Also, even in real life, we get into a physical relationship with the person we love. In the same way, Ragini MMS shows the couples engaging in expressing love both physically and emotionally.”
Ask him about the steamy sequences of love making that have gone viral between his character and that of Riya’s and he says, “Yes, it was not supposed to happen. Audience was supposed to see them only in the episodes. But somebody was in a hurry to show it to the world (smiles). So yes, this is the first time I have agreed to be part of any love making scene. I was very nervous, especially because I have personally liked Riya. I had a crush on her too at one point of time. So the pressure was heavily on me. But I have to really say that working with Riya was a pleasure. She gave me the respect and never made me feel that she has done bigger work. Today, we are such good friends. We hang out; I have dinner with her family, including her husband. She has welcomed me with both arms, and I have found a friend for life in Riya.”
Ask Nishant if his parents have been comfortable on seeing his steamy avatar and he says, “My parents are very mature and understanding. They know I am an actor and they don’t even make me feel odd. It is an actor’s job to portray various roles and they are happy that I am playing roles that are mature and different. Also, we are showing exactly what happens in day to day life. We are showing s*x in a very artistic and beautiful manner.”
Nishant considers himself very lucky as very recently, he had actually decided to get back to television. “When I left TV years back, TV was very different. Now the difference is really gone. TV is actually a bigger medium to reach out to the audience. Shows are getting bigger and better with quality playing an important role. I wanted to connect all over again with the TV viewing audience. And that is when I got a call from Vikas for Ragini MMS. And there was no looking back.”
Nishant has with time changed his perspective and the way of looking at things. “Now, I want to do good work and money is only secondary to me. I have grown as a person. I understand the importance of being in front of the audience and being part of their everyday journey. I want to play great characters and get appreciated on TV.”
The actor, who was part of films like Horror Story, Bezubaan Ishq, had been completely out of action, both on TV and movies from 2015. However, that did not keep him idle. He consciously decided to up his skills by learning more. “I never had formal acting training and I found it important to get to the next league as an actor. So before entering the market again, I wanted to train myself more. I joined acting schools Kreating Charakters and later Barry John’s training camp. So for the whole of one year, I did nothing but learn. This phase has really changed me a lot as an actor.”
Before signing off, Nishant says, “I really hope Ragini MMS plays its magic on audience. As for me, I will be seen more on TV. I already have plans rolling.”
Nishant, we wish you luck!!
