Actor Siddharth Nigam is finding his niche in the entertainment industry as an adult now. The 24-year-old was seen with Salman Khan in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and is now starring in JioHotstar's musical show, Hai Junoon. Speaking with HT, Siddharth talks about his role in the series and how he relates to it.
On Hai Junoon
Hai Junoon is a show about a dance group that challenges the hegemony of its college's prestigious singing choir. Siddharth plays Vikram, an aspiring singer who wants to join the elite choir, where he finds a mentor in Neil Nitin Mukesh's Gagan Ahuja. Talking about his role, Siddharth says, "I relate a lot with Vikram's character. I feel the young audience will see themselves in him because, at the end of the day, we are all chasing dreams. People like us who are outsiders coming from a small town to this big world, we need to first find ourselves and our own voice. That takes a long time."
Siddharth says that the role took him to his childhood in Prayagraj before he entered films as a child artist and how far removed he was from the film world. "When I was in Prayagraj, I had no idea about this industry. My mother ran a small parlour and I was a gymnast. I never say I struggled a lot because God gifted me these opportunities very early."
On film debut with Dhoom 3
Siddharth made his acting debut in 2013 playing a younger version of Aamir Khan's character in Dhoom 3. But just how far removed from Bollywood young Siddharth was can be gauged by the fact that he had no idea what Yash Raj Films was when he received the audition call. "When Yash Raj (Films) called me, Shanoo ma'am (casting director Shanoo Sharma) called me, we were scared. We had nobody in Mumbai where they were calling us. Where will we go? I literally wondered if it was a fake call. I am a Crime Patrol and Savdhaan India audience. I thought Mumbai bula ke bech diya to dikkat ho jayegi (What if they call us to Mumbai and sell me off). I genuinely had no idea what Yash Raj Films is and who is Shanoo ma'am," recalls Siddharth with a laugh.
{{/usCountry}}Siddharth made his acting debut in 2013 playing a younger version of Aamir Khan's character in Dhoom 3. But just how far removed from Bollywood young Siddharth was can be gauged by the fact that he had no idea what Yash Raj Films was when he received the audition call. "When Yash Raj (Films) called me, Shanoo ma'am (casting director Shanoo Sharma) called me, we were scared. We had nobody in Mumbai where they were calling us. Where will we go? I literally wondered if it was a fake call. I am a Crime Patrol and Savdhaan India audience. I thought Mumbai bula ke bech diya to dikkat ho jayegi (What if they call us to Mumbai and sell me off). I genuinely had no idea what Yash Raj Films is and who is Shanoo ma'am," recalls Siddharth with a laugh.
{{/usCountry}}Eventually, his brother googled YRF and Shanoo Sharma to realise just how big of an opportunity it was. "And they embraced me with open arms," Siddharth says, for both YRF and the film fraternity.
Hai Junoon is currently streaming on JioHotstar.
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