“Working with Sunny Leone on Real Men Unleashed was an incredible experience” – Nikita Rawal

Nikita Rawal is somebody who does not like to be put in a box. Apart from being an actor, Nikita is a dancer, entrepreneur and a social worker. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Nikita discovered her love for acting at a very early age. With time, she realized she wanted to do different things. While she remains busy in many of her projects, her work as a philanthropist and social worker takes up a lot of her time as well.

Nikita has now teamed up with Sunny Leone for the upcoming reality show ‘Real Men Unleashed’. The show, which is set to premiere closer to the dawn of the new year, will feature a bevy of contestants. Apart from the contestants taking up several complex challenges, one should look forward to a lot of high-octane drama in the show.

In this interview, Nikita talks about her upcoming show, collaborating with Sunny Leone, being a multi-tasker, philanthropy, love for kathak and more.

You are the producer and host of ‘Real Men Unleashed’. How was the experience of putting this show together?

It was hectic but a lot of fun at the same time. It has been designed as a sports cum adventure show where the contestants will be taking up challenging tasks. I had to bring all the contestants together, coordinate the dates for the shoot and ensure everything happened smoothly and as per the plan. On some days, managing everything was tough but I managed to sail through it. I am very happy to see the final product that all of us, as a part of the team, have put together. We worked with several interesting contestants like Sahil Khan, Tanishaa Mukherjee, Sangram Singh, Rani KoHEnur and Faizu. I am looking forward to see how the audience responds to the show.

How was the experience of collaborating with Sunny Leone on this show?

Working with Sunny on ‘Real Men Unleashed’ was an incredible experience! She is a wonderful person and brought in a lot of positive energy to the show.

Have you ever found it a little difficult to juggle between the many things you do?

When you decide to do multiple things in life, you do face difficulties at times. Every profession comes with its own set of challenges. In the film industry, I faced rejections for a very long time. The entire experience shook my confidence. However, it also taught me that you have to keep moving forward, regardless of the situation you are in. Whenever I face any difficulty in any sphere of work, I look for the best way to overcome it and move forward.

A while back, you pledged to donate your organs. What made you take this step?

None of us can operate without our organs. I had this habit of saying a thank you to my organs every day for supporting me and helping me move ahead in life. However, I was cognizant of the fact that when I die, my organs will be of no use to me. I thought what is that one thing I could do to preserve them or ensure that they prove to be useful to somebody. That is when I decided to donate my organs.

While doing a stage performance at your college day function, producer Champak Jain from Venus noticed you and cast you in a music video. Is that how your journey as an actor begin?

Yes! Luckily, I got a break very easily. However, I was not aware that the path ahead would be filled with difficulties for me. But, that’s fine. We need to do difficult things in our life to reach somewhere. After the music video, Mr. Champak Jain cast me in ‘Garam Masala’. He was responsible for introducing me to this beautiful world of cinema.

Dance happens to be an integral part of your life. You have trained extensively in kathak.

I wanted to learn kathak as I wanted to be an actor. Learning kathak makes you expressive. I also feel it makes your inner soul come out. I trained in kathak for 14-15 years and performed all over the world. I have done close to 1500 shows till date as a kathak dancer.

What are you doing next?

I have shot for a web series. It deals with a very interesting subject. I always wanted to play a very dark character. My wish finally came true with this series. In this series, I play a woman who commits multiple murders. I am really looking forward to see how the audience reacts to it.