Nidhi Subbaiah is all set to singe B-town. Filmfare chats up the South siren

I used to be a sailor. I was really good at that sport. Considering I come from Coorg, Karnataka, I represented the state at the international level and won two gold medals. I did want to take it up professionally. But after hearing my parents and elders out, I realised there wasn’t much money in that sport. In India, only tennis, badminton and cricket can earn you money. Sadly, sailing doesn’t. So I had to give it up. Now I prefer to keep it as my hobby.

In the second year of engineering in Bangalore, I started modelling. I also did a couple of advertisements and then came the downpour of movie offers from the South Indian film industry. I got offers from the Mumbai, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu industries. And since I just wanted to break free from my engineering course, I grabbed the opportunity.

It’s been three years since I began working in South cinema. I have seven films to my credit today. My first two films were average hits but my fourth film (Pancharangi) was a super hit. From then onwards, things started getting brighter. Whilst working on my seventh film, I signed Oh My God! It’s a movie that’s against idol worship. I believe in that too. I signed it because I wanted to test the waters in the Hindi film industry. And after that immediately Ajab Gazabb Love happened.

It was so much fun doing Ajab Gazabb Love. I remember we had to go to Italy to shoot three songs. I even sneaked some time out to shop at the flea markets. And I sailed in Italy as well! Now you can imagine how big a deal that was for me!

I don’t see the South as a stepping stone to the Hindi film industry. I’d still like to have a healthy balance between the two industries. When I was working in the South, I never thought I’d be doing a Bollywood movie. So yes, signing my first Hindi film is something eventful. Bollywood has worldwide recognition.
Neither does success give me a high nor failure a low. I don’t let it affect me, these things never last forever. People praise me, I say thank you and move on. I’m critical of my own work.I don’t think I take things too seriously, maybe that helps me.

Frankly, there’s so much more to life than acting. I grew up in Coorg with a lot of books around me. My parents have imbibed reading as a definitive hobby. Maybe that’s what ticked the writer in me. I’m a blogger and have also written short stories. Eventually, I want to write a book and maybe even a script. (Laughs) But I also want to sail around the world. Besides, my dad has wanted me to be a singer since I was two. I sing too. I also sang at the audio release of Ajab Gazabb Love. But I’d love to be like the legendary Suraiya, who acted and also sang in her movies.

I don’t want my friends and family to treat me like an actress. Once when I got back home my dad asked me to wash the car. I shouted, “How dare you! I’m an actress now!” All he said was, “Oh okay, go wash the car now and take the dog out for a walk too.” But this is exactly how I’d like it to be.

I’m crazy about Kajol. I used to watch all her films first day, first show back then. Usually, teenagers my age had pictures of heroes on their bedside and framed on the walls but I had Kajol’s posters in my room. So doing a film with her would be like a dream come true!

Also, there are so many good-looking and talented girls out there, I better buck up!

source: http://www.Filmfare.com / Home> Interviews / by Karishma Loynmoon , Multimedia Executive / October 08th, 2012