‘When I Got The Paatal Lok Demo…’

‘…it
was
for
a
very,
very
big
lead
actor.’
‘I
looked
at
it
and
saw
how
beautiful
she
was.
I
was
like,
there’s
no
chance
I’m
getting
it.’
‘I
auditioned
and
as
luck
would
have
it,
they
were
looking
for
someone
like
me.’

Niharika
Lyra
Dutt
had
a
good
2024,
as
she
featured
in
two
big
ticket
shows,

Call
Me
Bae
and

Doctors.

Making
into
the
glitzy
world
of
Bollywood
was
a
distant
dream
for
this
actor
from
a
humble
theatre
background.

But
in
the
last
few
years,
she
was
seen
in
many
well-received
shows
including

Pataal
Lok,

Eternally
Confused
and
Eager
for
Love
and

Choona.

‘I
have
been
a Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai fan.
Since
childhood,
I
have
been
Anjali. Obviously,
I
told
my
adult
brain
that
these
are
dreams
you
don’t
need
to
have. So
I
didn’t
dream
about
Yash
Chopra.
I
didn’t
dream
about
Dharma,’ Niharika
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

How
was
your
experience
playing
a
doctor
in

Doctors?

I
had
the
best
time!
It
was
possibly
my
most
rewarding
experience
till
date
because
I
got
most
of
the
meat
with
Keyuri’s
character.

Also,
the
fact
that
she
has
gray
shades
was
exciting
to
explore.

Now,
it
has
released
after
two
years,
and
I’m
very
nostalgic
about
that
time
we
had
as
a
team.

I
am
very
happy
that
it
is
being
recognised.

Be
it
Sarah
Matthews,
the
journalist
you
played
in

Pataal
Lok
or
Keyuri
Patel
in

Doctors,
it
must
be
surreal
to
play
such
earthy
characters
and
depicting
these
professions.

(Theatre
personality
Konstantin)
Stanislavski
talked
about
what
if,
right?
The
question
of

Magic
If.

It’s
always
Lyra
as
Keyuri
Patel
or
Lyra
as
Sarah
Matthews.
So
it’s
very
interesting
to
think
about
this
parallel
universe,
where
I’m
a
completely
different
person
and
in
a
completely
different
world.

What
would
be
my
fix?
What
would
be
my
occupational
hazards?
What
would
be
the
thing
that
doesn’t
allow
me
to
sleep
at
night?
What
would
be
the
thing
that
adds
fire
to
my
belly?

Being
those
people
was
such
an
internal
process.

Whenever
I
get
a
character,
the
first
thing
I
do
is
I
write
down.
I
make
the
script
the
Bible
and
then
make
a
mix
of
similarities
and
differences
between
me
and
my
characters.

The
similarities
are
incredible
because
I
can
really
lean
on
them.
But
the
differences
can
tell
you
about
the
choices
the
character
makes,
and
you
have
to
justify
them.

Has
acting
always
been
your
passion?
What
motivated
you
to
come
to
Mumbai
and
follow
your
dreams?

Honestly,
I
didn’t
want
to
come
to
Mumbai.
I
used
to
pull
my
nose
up
at
the
thought
that
this
is
a
valuable
place.

I
was
doing
theatre
from
a
very
young
age.
My
parents
were
also
from
theatre.
So
it
was
an
expression
that
lived
with
me
since
the
age
of
six.

I’ve
been
directing
and
acting
my
own
plays.

I
finished
my
graduation
in
Delhi
and
applied
for
a
scholarship.
But
I
didn’t
get
it.

I
got
a
score
on
the
drama
school.
I
heard
that
there
it
would
be
a
maximum
batch
of
13
and
we
were
being
taught
by
people
who
were
professionals
in
the
industry
in
Mumbai.

My
parents
very
sweetly
funded
that
education
and
I
shifted
my
bag
and
life
in
a
week,
and
came
to
Mumbai.

I
didn’t
know
what
would
happen.
I
didn’t
know
how
long
I
would
stay
there.

Now,
it’s
been
10
years.

This
industry
is
high
on
favouritism
and
connections.
How
have
you
navigated
your
way
through
that?

I
knew
that
nobody
knows
me,
that
nobody
would
stick
their
neck
out
to
put
their
money
on
me
as
a
lead
or
whatever.

I
was
honestly
just
happy
to
do
the
work
that
I
was
getting.

Of
course,
it
had
to
align
with
the
kind
of
work
I
want
to
do.

I
would
audition
for
things
and
when
I
got
them,
I
would
just
be
very
glad.
Then
I
realised
that
for
me,
work
will
get
me
more
work.

I’m
grateful
that
I
have
managed
to
work
with
some
fantastic
teams.

I
hope
this
attitude
will
allow
me
to
work
with
even
better
names
and
better
scripts
in
future.

When
you
do
projects
like

Paatal
Lok
and

Call
Me
Bae,
which
are
backed
by
big
names,
what
changes
does
it
bring
for
you
as
an
actor?

During

Paatal
Lok,
I
didn’t
believe
it.

When
I
got
the
demo
for
the
audition,
it
was
for
a
very,
very
big
lead
actor.
I
looked
at
it
and
saw
how
beautiful
she
was.
I
was
like,
there’s
no
chance
I’m
getting
it.

I
always
saw
myself
as
not
mainstream,
so
I
thought
there
was
no
chance
I
would
get
it.

I
auditioned
for
it
and
as
luck
would
have
it,
they
were
looking
for
someone
like
me.

I
still
remember
when
I
stepped
out
of
Clean
Slate
office,
I
called
my
mother
and
it
was
an
unbelievable
feeling.

I
had
watched

NH10
when
I
was
still
in
college
in
Delhi,
and
remember
being
moved
by
it.
That
was
a
female-led
cinema
and
it
was
really,
really
good.

I
was
so
interested
in
Anushka
Sharma
and
Sudeep
Sharma
that
I
definitely
wanted
to
work
with
them.

When
I
stepped
out
of
the
Clean
Slate
office,
it
was
an
unbelievable
feeling
because
I
felt
like
someone
who
is
not
mainstream
was
given
a
chance.
Then
I
realised
that
the
entire
team
was
built
like
that.
The
preference
was
given
to
the
talent
and
who
will
do
the
best
job.

During

Call
Me
Bae,
it
was
very
funny
actually.

I
have
been
a

Kuch
Kuch
Hota
Hai
fan.
Since
childhood,
I
have
been
Anjali.

Obviously,
I
told
my
adult
brain
that
these
are
dreams
you
don’t
need
to
have.

So
I
didn’t
dream
about
Yash
Chopra.
I
didn’t
dream
about
Dharma.

I
was
very
happy
in
the
OTT
world
with
whatever
work
I
was
getting.

When
I
got
the
audition
and
got
through
the
first
round,
then
the
second
round,
Colin
(D’Cunha,
director
of
Call
Me
Bae)
called
me
to
meet
him
at
the
Dharma
office.

A
really
funny
thing
happened.
His
assistant
had
given
me
his
number
and
I
told
the
watchman,
‘Brother,
I
want
to
go
to
Yash
Raj’s
office.’

And
he’s
like,
no,
Yash
Raj
office
is
not
here.

I
called
the
assistant,
saying
Yash
Raj’s
office
is
not
here,
and
he’s
like,
‘Niharika,
you
have
to
come
to
the
Dharma
office.’

I
guffawed
loudly.

I
was
like,
oh
my
God!

I
don’t
think
it
hit
me.
Till
that
point,
I
think
I
was
just
trying
to
tell
myself
that
I
can
do
this.
I
can
be
a
part
of
such
a
universe
and
really
worked
hard
to
put
my
best
foot
forward
to
be
able
to
be
as
assimilated
in
that
kind
of
a
universe.

I
think
it
was
at
the
premiere
when
I
introduced
Karan
Johar
to
my
father.
That
was
a
surreal
moment
for
me.