Mission Over Mars actor Nidhi Singh: Choose projects which I would enjoy watching as audience

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation.

How did Mission Over Mars happen?

It’s kind of a fun story. I have not graduated from science but since my father is a doctor, brother an IT Professional and a cousin, who is a scientist, I have had a lot of science influences in my life. We are always discussing these things. Earlier this year, my brother was talking about Chandrayaan, Kalpana Chawla and how fascinating it is. Even I got interested and also read a lot about it. And in two weeks, I got to meet the makers of the show. I was stunned for a few moments thinking if they had been listening to my conversations at home (laughs). But from the word go, I was really excited about it. While these women have had such an impactful life, yet they are so simple with regular issues in life. Also, the makers were sure they wanted to have four different kinds of women, each very ‘hatke’ from the other in the series.

What kind of feedback did you receive for your character Neetu?

To be honest, for me, the moment I leave the set, it’s like I have submitted my work and I am gone. It’s now the makers, who put it out there and the audience, who sees it. But it’s really humbling when people come back and tell me that they never imagined me doing something like this. As for me, I had a great time shooting with actors like Sakshi Tanwar and Mona Singh. There were actually multiple pinch me moments for me on the set. They also never let us feel that they were big stars. We were all hanging around together or playing games. It was all so easy and fun.

While Neetu is a scientist, she is also very superstitious and a strong believer in astrology. Did you relate to that side?

I am not like her but I do have such people around me. I am not someone who would question someone’s belief. Because we have no clue what led them to that juncture. But when I took up the role, I did read a lot of astrology book to mouth my dialogues convincingly. And I must add that it was fun.

For many people, Neetu stood out when she told her boss that ‘if I am doing the maths, it will never be wrong.’ What was your big moment as Neetu?

It’s exactly the same scene (laughs). Neetu is from Banaras, has hangups like someone heating non-veg food in her microwave. But she knows that her maths will never be wrong. The interesting part is that she is not confident. She doesn’t even want to ever come in the spotlight. But at that moment, she knows she has to speak up or the mission would be canceled. The scene was written so beautifully, where she cracks up, drinks some water, and then goes on to say what she has to in one breathe. When I read it, I knew this is who Neetu is actually. She is not someone to challenge people but her capabilities make her seniors trust her. That is Neetu in a nutshell.

We all knew about how the mission will end, yet enjoyed the thrilling journey. But as actors, what was the vibe on set when you shot for the climax?

We not only had to understand the emotion but also the fact that the audience will be witnessing the same on their screens. While we all know about the success and failures of the mission we don’t know anything about the emotions. The director was sure that he wanted it very authentic with some heightened drama. The tone was well set in advance and we all came quite prepared that day. While it was chaos with more than 100 people on the set, we kept the emotions together to deliver the performance.

After playing such distinct characters, do you see yourself do a typical heroine role someday?

Why not? I have drama in my bloodstream. I am very grateful for the kind of roles that have come my way. I am happy to be doing such different characters and would love to be a part of all kinds of roles next. Take for examples films like Chalbaaz or Khoon Bhari Maang, it had everything a heroine does but were also very powerful characters. I also exercise my choice as an audience. I always choose projects which I would enjoy watching.

What’s next for you?

I have just finished a series for Hotstar Specials. It’s produced by Arre and is yet untitled. It’s a family drama with some amazing actors like Gajraj Rao, Ranvir Shorey, Yashpal Sharma, Vijay Raaz, Abhishek Banerjee, Sadiya Siddiqui among others. It will be a Diwali release and I am quite kicked about it. I am also doing a film by Yoodlee Films.