Made in Heaven 2 actor Nirvana Sawhney on new fame, transition from small screen to digital medium: ‘Some of our biggest stars have come from TV’

As exciting as its to join a popular show it can be equally challenging to make a place for oneself let alone stand out Actor Nirvana Sawhney has seemed to done both Among the new additions to the already stellar cast of In Made in Heaven 2 Nirvana played Gauri Khanna stepsister to Jim Sarbhrsquos Adil KhannaAs the buzz around the show settles Nirvana who previously starred on Zee TVrsquos finite series Bin Kuch Kahe and was also the acting coach on Oscarnominated Indian short Bittu 2021 opens up on her breakthrough with Made in Heaven 2 starring alongside Jim and Kalki Koechlin and if TV actors are met with preconceived notions as they transition to moviesQ How have these weeks been for youNirvana Itrsquos been really moving especially immediately post release when there was a flood of DMs constant calls People who know my family were calling my parents to congratulate me When my father received such calls I was really moved because it was also a moment for him to feel proud I have been receiving a lot of appreciation kind words and feedback from everywhere Sometimes itrsquos overwhelming and sometimes I am full of gratitude and have to remind myself that this is happening and itrsquos time to enjoy itQ Take me back to the time when thejourney on Made in Heaven 2 began for youNirvana This happened during the lockdown I had moved back to Delhi I sent my audition to the casting team I was of course excited about the audition when I sent it but when for a few weeks I didnrsquot get any response I thought to let it go Then one day I heard back from the team and they told me I was among the finalists and Zoya Akhtar ccreator wanted to meet me Then I auditioned for Zoya She was lovely and warm But it still wasnrsquot a final yes Sometime later I got a call saying lsquoWe are going with yoursquoQ What did you include in your prep to play GauriNirvana My audition actually had the sequence that became my first scene with Jim and Kalki in the series So I had to do some work at the audition stage itself to understand the character After I was signed I did ask the team for Gaurirsquos background I needed to know what kind of a person she was whether she was angry about everything if she had a good relationship with her father whether she knew about Adil and how she felt about it So I made choices for her accordinglyAlso both Jim and Kalki were so grounded in their characters that it helped me to be clear about our onscreen dynamics and subsequently my characterQ So how was the experience of working with both of themNirvana As costars they made everything very comfortable for me Firstly because of their understanding of their roles and equation with my character Going into Made in Heaven 2 I knew I would work with really talented actors So obviously initially I was nervous Also due to the lockdown there were such long gaps between our scenes It was challenging for me to know how consistent my character was coming out But both of them made it really easy I got really lucky with them as costarsQ One would assume it would be equally comforting and assuring to work with the directors of the seriesNirvana It was such a phenomenal experience to work with such talented and distinct voices in one project itself What I loved about them was that they all were on the same page about Gauri So it wasnrsquot hard for me to move from one director to another So they were in sync with what they were getting out of me even as they had different styles of directionQ Being an addition to an existing popular cast on set was it difficult to not be overwhelmed by the pressure of making a mark among established actorsNirvana Creatively I was confident about what I was bringing to the table as I had a body of work to support me But it was quite an emotional journey for me because from being signed to going on set then working with actors like Jim and Kalki it was a lotIn the middle of the shoot sometimes I would wonder lsquoWow this is happeningrsquo So it was a journey to gain that composure Then I had to remind myself of my strengths and also the fact that Zoya picked me and showed faith in my abilitiesQ Several actors who transition to films from TV have spoken about how they have to battle preconceived notions about them They are doubted if they can play different characters given they are accepted in a certain image on the small screen How has been your experience like making the shiftNirvana I have heard from a couple of friends that if you come from TV they look at you a certain way I do feel that there may be some sort of notion that people have about TV actors Personally I didnrsquot feel it I also donrsquot see myself like that I look at myself as an actor If therersquos a project that I like and it aligns with my sensibilities I will do it irrespective of the mediumSome of our biggest stars came from TV Shah Rukh Khan is the biggest example Therersquos such a huge spectrum You can focus on one aspect of TV background and then thatrsquos all you will see because thatrsquos your conformation bias But good actors come from everywhere and you canrsquot put a box to it Today film actors are on OTT I look at mediums as platforms to hone onersquos skills Some do it on TV some in theatre some get to do it while working on series As actors we arenrsquot only acting we are also getting trained to do betterOf course after you move to a new medium you might not prefer the way TV works or the kind of stories that are being told In that sense you make choices for yourself But it doesnrsquot mean you donrsquot even try to be a part of any project on television If you want to you should give it a shot