He was pitted against Shah Rukh Khan onscreen in Chennai Express, and, despite playing the bad guy, Nikitin Dheer became immensely popular. Opening up about the fame he tasted after playing Thangabali, Nikitin shares, “I truly believe that Chennai Express is a landmark film in my career. After the release and success of the film, I got several offers on the same lines. But unfortunately, they weren’t convincing enough since they all were just encashing on the film’s popularity and my character Thangabali. Earlier, people used to see my physicality, but now they are appreciating my work as an actor and thinking beyond my body structure. They have overcome my physicality, and it is a great feeling.”
Nikitin wants to steer clear from any kind of typecasting. “People in the industry tend to typecast, and to break that stereotype is difficult. Action is the genre that I am definitely comfortable with. However, as an actor, sometimes it takes a little longer to break that norm. I am absolutely loving the change, and things are looking good,” he adds.
Being an integral part of big massy films such as Sooryavanshi and Antim: The Final Truth seems like a formula for the actor. “I feel audiences are hypocrites, specifically the self-proclaimed cooler gen-z, who accept Fast & Furious but seek logic to our potboilers. I feel people should watch your films to like you. It is amazing to work with people like Rohit Shetty sir, Akshay (Kumar) sir, Salman Khan sir, I have learned a lot from them. Their love for cinema is amazing,” he says.
Nikitin is excited as he will soon welcome a baby with wife, Kratika Sengar. He feels very lucky that his family is staying with the couple as they are about to embrace parenthood for the first time. “I and Kratika are taking one step at a time. We are fortunate enough to be staying with our parents. They are there to guide us,” Nikitin says.
Talking further about his future projects, he reveals, “I am shooting a Telugu film nearly after four to five years. I just finished a film titled Khiladi with Ravi Teja. I am about to start my first ever Kannada film too. Besides these, I have interesting line-ups in Hindi as well, but it is too early for me to talk about it.”
