A successful Indian female ‘cardiologist’ based out of Luxembourg and London, getting lured into Bollywood acting and dancing !
Sounds crazy, but glam model-actress Niharica Raizada, who happens to be the grand-niece of legendary film music composer O P Nayyar, considers medicine “is my profession while acting is my passion”. Having acted in five movies including ‘Baby’ and ‘Alone’, in brief roles, Niharica, who has this fleeting resemblance to Manisha Koirala, is now finally playing the lead title role in US based Indian director Param Gill’s international movie ‘Warrior Savitri’. “For me, the cardiac test ‘ECG’ also stands for Entertainment, Cinema and Glamour,” quips the dimpled actress amidst bouts of giggles.
Considering that the movie was supposedly a rip-off of the mythological lore of ‘Satyawaan Savitri’, why was Niharica clad in an armoured combat suit and armed with hi-tech weapons? “Hmm, the modern avatar of ‘Savitri’ character which I play, is not the docile types. She is a pretty tough ‘femme fatale’ who is a martial arts expert and uses it to rescue her husband Satyawan (Rajat Barmecha) from the jaws of negative forces. It's also about woman-empowerment blended into an undercurrent of romantic love. Mine is an action-centric role with breathtaking martial arts combat scenes mainly with British bombshell Lucy Pinder’s grey-shades character. Recently, I shot for this stunt scene, where strapped to a harness, I jumped off a 30-storeyed skyscraper and the plunging rollercoaster ride gave me a huge ‘high’,” smiles Raizada whose favourite retro-song from O.P. Nayyar’s repertoire is the Asha Bhonsle number ‘Aao Huzoor Tumko, Sitaaron Mein Le Chaloon’ . Enthuses the vivacious actress, “It’s as if my grand-uncle Nayyar-saab is indirectly coaxing me to become a ‘star’. As a kid, I was lucky enough, to meet him a few times. Maybe if I get the opportunity I may ‘sing’ as well, since music runs in my blood,” she shrugs.
Quiz her on her ‘dream hero’ and she blushes as she gushes, “My ultimate heart-throb hero is Ajay Devgn. The day I get to share screen space with him, it will be ‘mission accomplished’,” she signs off.