Exclusive - Choti Sardarni’s Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia: Many actresses refused Meher’s role in fear of getting stereotyped

Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia aka Meher of Choti Sardarni has won love with her debut show. In an exclusive chat with ETimes TV, Nimrit shared how the show has made an impact all around, decision to be a part of the show and also how many actresses had refused the role in fear of getting stereotyped. She also speaks about her co-stars Avinesh Rekhi (Sarab) and Kevina Tak (Param). Read more. (By: Sukarna Mondal)

The feeling is very overwhelming. One thing I have realised overtime, that when everybody comes together with a lot of honesty, magic is created. The show has been beautifully and aptly cast. There is so much positivity and when that goes right, it reflects on screen, which is why audiences also connect to it. Touchwood, in a short span of time, the show has done wonders. I genuinely feel that the show has been blessed by ‘Rabb’ (God).

Initially, people would address me as Meher. But then people loved my character and now they want to know more about me. Now I feel like Meher and my personality has turned synonymous. And I feel proud when people says, ‘Oh Meher!’ I feel like we have done something right.

I say this with a lot of confidence, I love the time period we are in right now. With the kind of content right now, even the audiences these days have the vision to understand that it is not about who you are and it is about the character you are playing. Many actors rejected this role because they were of being stereotyped in a mother’s role. But I saw Kiara playing the role of a pregnant lady in Kabir Singh and then Good Newz. I also saw Alaya F playing the role of a young pregnant woman in her debut film Jawaani Janeman. In the time we are in right now, there’s not much fear of being stereotyped.

The good part about playing this character is you kind of try to draw the similarities between yourself and the character you are playing. That’s the first step as an actor that you do to find a connect and relatability. Something similar happened with me also. Meher is a girl who is shown to have an Army background and my father is a Retd. Brigadier. So that was my similarity to look out. Her character and I are both Sikhni and we both are rooted to our religion. More than that, the similarity I found the most is Meher’s honesty. She is very black and white, opinionated and independent. However, talking about all the similarities, I don’t feel the pressure to live up to who she is on-screen. I am my own person. Thanks to social media and me being an extrovert, people know who I am. I am me and it is very well defined.

Kevina is wonderful to be around and she is full of life. One thing I love about her is she loves what she is doing. Mostly I have seen that the parents push their child in the industry thinking their kids are talented. But Kevina is genuinely that one girl who loves what she is she doing. It’s been a treat to watch her. She was shy initially but I have seen her taking note of the continuity scenes. She sometimes reminds me as well. It is so great to see her mature like that. We keep pulling each other’s legs. I become a child with her.

I will tell about my individual scenes with them. Coming to a scene with Sarab, there was a particular track we shot in Serbia. We were supposed to shoot our ‘chooda’ ceremony and technically we didn’t believe in our marriage. We had a matured and emotional scene together where we realise different forms of love and it doesn’t have to be romantic. It was quite fun shooting with him. About a scene with Param, there was a track where momentarily I had to play dead. So Param is in the hospital and he is howling. The way she cried and the way it was shot, it made me very emotional. I was covered with a white cloth and I was crying too. That is one of the best scenes, I have shot with Kevina.

I was never the one wanting to do TV. Like all newcomers, who steps in the industry, you have this mental block that you should do web and films. But I am glad that I had the sensibility to understand the power of this script and character. More than that, I wanted a character for myself as a debut no matter what medium. In TV it so happens that you play the girl next door and it is so cliché or the typical saas-bahu drama or triangular love story. That’s mostly what’s offered on TV. Choti Sardarni is one script, which I felt like a 90’s movie script. A woman, carrying a love-child and getting married to a widower with a kid, the idea of the entire character gave me goosebumps. That’s a first on TV. I never worked with the intention to reach somewhere.