Exclusive! Nimika Ratnakar: I was ready to give up on a career in films when Shake It Pushpavati came along

Nimika Ratnakar was quite surprised when she stumbled upon a release date announcement poster of her film Suman, which will be in theatres on May 19. “There’s been no word from the team and have absolutely no clue what their plan is. I have not received promotional posters, my songs are not released, so, I don’t know what is happening. I am quite disappointed, because it is still my film and it is special to me because this is the first project I signed after the pandemic. I have certain expectations of this film, but right now, no one even knows about it,” she says, adding, “Suman is about a love triangle between Dharma, me and Rajani Bharadwaj. This is the first film in which I am not just the glam doll and sport a traditional avatar. It’s a girl-next-door kind of role, which is why I thought it was different. Normally I am chosen to play, say, an NRI, so playing a more homely character felt nice.”

The actress, meanwhile, says that she has been enjoying the immensely positive reception to her special number with Challenging Star Darshan from his last film, Kranti, ‘Shake It Pushpavati’. “Things are on the brighter side since I did the popular dance number from Kranti, Shake It Pushpavati, at least in terms of the recognition I get now – people got to know that there is an artiste called Nimika Ratnakar after this song. The lyrical video, which featured Darshan sir and me doing the hook step, came out in the last week of December, and a week later I had a film release, Mr Bachelor with Darling Krishna. The love I got from Darshan sir fans was amazing; it was quite overwhelming. I had done Abbara with Prajwal Devaraj and had worked on Mr Bachelor much before Pushpavati happened, but I had remained a ‘nobody’ in the industry. And then, almost overnight, everything changed,” says Nimika.

The song, she adds, is something she actively pursued the minute she heard about the requirement. “I had sent my profile to the team of Kranti, including clippings of me dancing in songs from Abbara and Mr Bachelor, and of my Bharatanatyam and Belly dancing routines. The team liked my work and I got selected almost immediately. Shake It Pushpavati was a big offer for me, because I really needed something to give my career a push at that point. I had almost made up my mind to give up on this line of work; Abbara was a big disappointment for me and didn’t give the recognition I was hoping for. The song came to me at the right moment and has given me the fillip I needed,” adds Nimika.

The actress is hopeful that this streak of good luck runs a while longer, as her much-delayed film with Real Star Upendra, Trishulam, is finally back on track. “There was some patchwork that had to be completed and now, only the songs are pending, so, I am sure that it will come out soon and work out well. After a song like Shake It Pushpavati, I need a big release to back it up and I believe Trishulam is that film,” she explains.