Nitin Goel

Nitin Goel is an acting graduate from FTII. His IMDB Profile is here.

As a child what were your early influences towards cinema? Art, literature, graphics, photography?
It’s actually a very tough question because at that age you don’t even realise what is inspiring you as everything or anyone you come accross feels like a discovery of the self or the environment you are in. As a child, cinema was not films but movies, just a form of indulgence without any goals to it. Now as I am writing I recalled a memory and i am amazed myself that I had never thought about it before. So, i was surfing my TV set late at night and there as a film running… two people just walking and casually playing a big string instrument and singing, it was an extremely long take…
Just kept watching and something was pulling me in, I wanted to run away and switch off TV set but just couldn’t and as i am writing I recalled its name it was a classic Gopi Gayen Bagha Byne. So, influences at that age are actually difficult to decode. Everything influenced. I suppose.

How did you first become interested in the performing arts?
I feel for me it was a medium of self expression because as a kid and even as an adult i feel that your real true self is generally not acceptable because society function in its own norms. And most of the times you are only living somebody else’s life. In acting I try to find myself by playing somwone else. Sorry if that became too philosophical.

What steps did you take to train yourself as an actor?
I feel there is a certain inquisitiveness that has always been there. I questioned everything since a very early age.. be it religion, relationships, who we are? etc etc. And that questioning took me closer to Acting. And in that journey i pursued theater in Delhi, watched, read and performed plays. Observed people, Questioned behaviour. And then the reality or realism in cinema intetested me and in my journey of exploration I got
into FTII in my second attempt. So training keeps taking shapes. You have to be filled with questions.

How did your first film project come about? Tell us something about the experience.
A film that I can actually call a project is Amit Dutta’s\ Nainsukh. That came about when I passed out from the institute. By gods grace its felt that my face resembled Nainsukh’s (18th century miniature painter) patron Raja Balwant Singh. And then I prepared for it for almost 6 – 8 months before it was shot. Experience was spectacular. To work with Amit is always great. I feel one with him always.

What are your inspirations?
Life. Honesty. Love. Togetherness.

Is film acting intuitive or is it something you learn?
Both. One should practice so much that it becomes effortless and flowy. Almost like life. Obviously there are a lot of techniques and practices to do that or achieve that so to say.

What part does risk-taking play in your work, if any?
See I feel, if one knows its a risk one would not take it. One can only make choices and what comes out of those choices is uncontrollable. For eg. Anyone choosing to be an artist is a big risk in itself.

Your favorite actors? At least two of them?
Daniel Day Lewis
Christoph Waltz
Klaus Kinski
And a lot more

Any hurdles you have encountered in your journey. Things that are blocks in achieving your vision while working on your film.
Hurdles are more within oneself. So one has to cope with that. Acting is not an independent art form its dependent on a lot of other factors and people, specially Director and writer. So to learn to collaborate with director’s vision is extremely important and at times it becomes a task too because as an actor i am also looking for my expression.

Do you often get all that is in your wish list or is it a hard bargain every time?
What is a wish.

What is in the kitty now?
Honestly i am still trying to weave my knitty. But there is a Netflix show that was about to start but pushed due to Covid pandemic.

Any advice to the aspiring actors?
Practice, Perseverance, Patience.

Any memorable blunders?
So i was doing this Bollywood musical show Zangoora and it was the premiere show and the house was full of dignitaries and other audience members.
In the climax of the show there was a fight in the air between me and Zangoora (I was the antagonist). So I felt my moustaches are loosening up and once half of it even came down but I managed somwhow as we were in air… it came down again and again and again… taking me off my fight moves. So i just took them off and threw them away. And improvised something “Tujhe pakadne ke liye bhes bana ke ghoom raha tha” Lol Blunders makes you more cautious I feel.

Your dream project?
I really want to work with Christopher Nolan.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
No idea

What are you listening to right now? And most recent book? And Movie?
Krishna Das
Poems and Stories of different contemporary writers.
Pataal Lok (Web series)
Last modified: 08:40

Nainsukh Trailer:

https://youtu.be/NxBbvWsG4s8