Once hailed as one of the highest earning and most popular actors on television, Nakuul Mehta has now forayed into the world of streaming. But despite an extensive body of work on both these platforms,
he has had limited visibility in mainstream cinema. Interestingly, however, he began his acting journey with a Telugu film titled Abhimaani. In 2008, he played the lead in the Hindi film Haal-e-Dil, but he has been absent from that space ever since.
Now, speaking exclusively to News18, Nakuul reveals that there was another big Hindi film that he was supposed to be a part of. However, things didn’t materialise as the director felt that he was ‘too good looking’ for it. “The weirdest thing had happened. There was this once very popular producer and director. I was slated to do a sequel to a really beautiful film with him. Everything was done. We shot pictures and got the dates,” he recalls.
But then, a phone call changed everything. “I was at an acting workshop when he called and told me, ‘I was thinking about it. I think you’re too good looking for the part ya.’ I said okay. It was the role of a rajkumar from Rajasthan that I was supposed to play. But I kept thinking, what does my look have to do with what character I was to play? Then I realised that he didn’t have a better excuse to give. I didn’t know what to make of that. I was like, what’s he saying?” he shares.
Without making any revelations about the filmmaker, who turned him down, Nakuul remarks, “That film never got made and the director-producer also recently went to jail. God bless him!” Meanwhile, Nakuul was recently seen in JioHotstar’s Space Gen – Chandrayaan. Recently, he dropped a series of pictures that captured several behind-the-scenes moments, offering fans a glimpse into the journey that went into bringing the show to life.
He reflected on the experience and urged audiences to watch the series, calling it special and close to his heart. Talking about the show that shed light on ISRO’s lunar space programme, Nakuul exclusively tells us, “This show is a tribute to my wife. Ever since I’ve known her, she has constantly told me, ‘Give me space (laughs).” But what truly led him to do the series was its exploration of patriotism through scientists, a community, he believes, often gets sidelined in the mainstream discourse.
“I’ve always wondered that once these ISRO scientists achieved the unthinkable with Chadrayaan-3, how did they celebrate in private? You can imagine how cricketers and other sportsmen celebrate their win. But this is a monumental victory. I would assume they woke up and went about doing their routine. I would like to know what that night was like and what their celebratory dinner was like!” says the Do You Wanna Partner and Ishqbaaaz actor.
