Known for her work in Facebook Wala Pyaar, and Manto, actress Nancy Thakkar who was recently seen in Disney + Hotstar’s Pill Hai Ke Maanta Nahi, takes us through her journey from working in over 100+ commercials to making a mark as an actor.
Tejal Sinha
Make a mark in the world that can’t be erased. We’ve heard this many a times, but actress Nancy Thakkar’s journey beyond any doubt defines the saying.Nancy rose to fame with her previous works like Facebook Wala Pyar, Manto, and Phir Se Shaadi was recently seen in Disney + Hotstar’s short film Pill Hai Ke Maanta Nahi. The actress believes that with every new project, she gets to learn so many new things while working on a set and that’s how she gauges new experiences and expands her perspective of portraying the different range of emotions.
It’s not a piece of cake to start from scratch, and so wasn’t it for Nancy either. From working in over 100+ commercials to now paving her own path into acting, she takes us through her journey, and says, “ It’s been filled with ups and downs happiness and sadness, honestly. The journey so far has been very exciting, also because being an actor always keeps you on your toes. You are constantly learning something new, and getting to know a different side of yourself in this process. I did Manto, then I did Phir Se Shaadi with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, followed by Facebook Wala Pyaar, later on I did a short film called Do I exist? I also parallelly worked in 80 to 90 ad films all this while.
Also, my recent released short film is Pill Hai Ki Maanta Nahi on Disney + Hotstar I have also done a lot of theatre plays with Ila Arun, and KK Raina, and right now Im working with Imran Rashid. I am always looking forward to new work and interesting roles that challenge me and my craft and I’m looking forward to doing a lot more this year.”
Former Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius once said, “Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life.” And so did the Facebook Wala Pyaar actress, who trained herself in acting by observing. “Initially, when people kept telling me to observe, I didn’t believe them, but after so many years in this industry, I now agree that observing is the first thing that one must do.
One keeps moving forward in their journey, we keep learning and we keep growing as a person also, and also as an actor. I try to read more and more books, try to get involved in various acting workshops, watch a lot of cinema and observe if closely, which actually really helps. I also actively practice the Meisner technique, which is really amazing for any actor,” enthused Nancy.
Having worked in several commercials, asked about what’s something challenging she faced doing commercials compared to short films or films. “In commercials, you have to accomplish a lot of stuff in a span of a day. You have to understand your director, understand the script well, and then get in the character and perform.
You really have to be very spontaneous, And, wherein a film is involved, you always need to create a character and then live that character for a longer period. So that is definitely more creatively satisfying, in a film you’re playing that certain character for like a certain amount of days, like 20 days, 30 days, depending on the project,” she says adding, “commercials are also quick money and films, are a quick success.”
Nancy donnes several hats, and how gracefully. She has been classically trained and has performed in theatres for various plays fearlessly owing to her fluency in English Hindi and Punjabi. She is not only an actor but also a painter and an entrepreneur. She is also an advanced yoga practitioner and meditates to balance her body and mind. She’s in fact known for elegant live performances too.However, she feels, “Live dance performances are very challenging. You have to perform on a stage for one and a half hours, 90 minutes, 2 hours, constantly being able to keep up the energy and create magic on stage.
Choreography-wise also, you have to memorize each and every step, and do that gracefully in front of so many audiences is very challenging. Definitely. But this process definitely makes me feel alive, gives me a push, satisfaction and happiness from performing to continue performing on the stage. More the challenge, more the thrill, more the satisfaction and more better results. I look upto Aliya Janell, she is a very powerful dancer also I like Vaibhavi Merchants’ choreography.”
Coming to Pill Hai Ke Maanta Nahi, the short film didn’t turn out that well in terms of the reviews by critics. However, “I believe Pill Hai Ki Maanta Nahi did well. The reason being it’s just a short film. It’s not even a feature film and the amount of buzz it still managed to garner was very good. As a creator, one needs lots of hard work and grit to make a movie, kudus to the entire team for that. And this being Aarya’s debut as a director, he did really well. And I’m sure he’ll be making a lot more films and those films ahead. I played Shabnam’s character in the film which was again interesting. And it had its own twists and turns in the story.”
You meet new people on the sets when you do a new project, and it’s always exciting to experience something new, isn’t it? Seconding to this, the Manto actress says, “I’m an actor, I learn and growing every day. With every project you meet a new director, you meet new actors, a new set of characters, and a new set of friends, and I feel each experience adds a lot more value to my life, to my career, and to my growth as an actor.
I’m also open to doing a lot of more challenging work, more work that brings the creative side of me out, also I would like to bring about more variations in my performance. I would definitely choose to be more versatile, and would like to continue to experiment alot with my choices.”
Having worked in theaters, and now doing films, Nancy says, “I am really passionate about my work. As a person, I’m very flexible and always open to adapt and learn. I love doing theater and I love doing films, I also love doing television and would love to do web as well.”
Seems like 2023 is going to be a complete work year for Nancy, as she signs off by saying, “I have Parabel as one of my upcoming projects. Then, I am also doing two more short films, doing a few music videos. And, as for theater currently, I’m also working on two plays Bade MiyaanDeewane and Paan Wali Kothi.”
