A wealth of mythology

A trained classical dancer, who is well-versed in Bharatanatyam was spotted by renowned Kannada filmmaker TS Nagabharana. He cast her as a child artiste in his teleserial Mahamaye in 2005. Eventually, acting became her passion even as she continued with her passion for dance. Nisha BK has since gone onto the silver screen as well. She was seen playing a blind girl’s role in Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar’s film Jackie, and also essayed roles in a couple of other films before she bagged the biggie playing the role of goddess Lakshmi in the mythological mega venture Sri Vishnu Dashavatara on Zee Kannada. The actress speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about how her dancing prowess led her to acting, and how her new role as the goddess has given her a much-needed break.

“I have been practising Bharatanatyam since I was a child. It was TS Nagabharana Sir, who happened to be a chief guest at one of my dance programmes, who introduced me to acting. I started acting as a child artiste in his teleserial Mahamaye, which was a mythological venture. This led me to a couple of film opportunities including Jackie, wherein I played a blind girl’s role and then as the daughter to Devaraj Sir’s character in Deadly 2, which was directed by Ravi Shrivatsa Sir. Further, a few cameos followed while I went in search of a protagonist’s character. To be honest, I had to work very hard, and finally it paid off when I made it through the auditions for Sri Vishnu Dashavatara,” says Nisha.

Made on a grand scale, the mythological serial is being shot mostly in Mumbai. Various Kannada actors including Nisha spend at least 25 days a month there. “It has been home away from home, as the cast is entirely from the Kannada industry. Initially, it was challenging but eventually things started to ease, and we got a few days off from work but with mythological soaps made on such a large scale, the makers prefer to have a good number of episodes in the bank,” she adds.

As a child artiste, she would take her school work to the work place and study during breaks. “It has always been a part and parcel of my career. First as a dancer, and then as an actress. Though learning the artform is an ongoing process, I have cleared my senior exams in classical dance conducted by the state government, and I am now pursuing Vidwat in it. I was also part of the dance group Ayana briefly, which performed various forms of dance,” she shares, adding that portraying the role of a goddess on TV has made it a bit difficult to concentrate more on her other passion — dancing.

After the auditions, she had to undergo workshops with regards to vocabulary and pronunciation of languages. It also involved learning how to enact the role of a deity while being as human as possible, how one should pose, talk, look, etc. “Thankfully, my dance lessons helped me to a great extent when it comes to expressions and postures,” she smiles.

The dancer cum actress loves to read, and carries her favourite books with her. She is always hooked onto digital media for her favourite shows and movies when not playing the goddess of wealth — Lakshmi. She is now pursuing her graduation in psychology and English through correspondence.