Kapil Nirmal Reflects on His Journey from TV Stardom to His Hindi Film Debut in ‘Vedaa’

Actor Kapil Nirmal has spent 18 long years on television. His first Hindi film - Nikhil Advani’s Vedaa - which also stars John Abraham and Sharvari Wagh – released recently to a lot of fanfare. Kapil is seen as API Bhimsen Purohit in the film and has got some intense action scenes with John Abraham. 

Talking about his casting in the film, Kapil says, ”I got the role after a lengthy process which included auditions, selections, screen tests, action sequences, appearance evaluations, and a mock shoot.” Why was the wait for his first film so long? Kapil explains, ”It takes time. First, you work on yourself and understand your craft. Then, you make yourself financially stable so that you can survive. After that, you start thinking about moving forward because you’ve become too comfortable in one place. I’m speaking from my own experience. Television offers a lot of comfort -good money, fame... I was content in that space, which kept me connected to it. But eventually, I felt the need for a change. So I started trying, meeting people and finding out. The surprising thing is that while experience in television is valuable, people may greet you with respect, but you still have to face challenges and start from scratch in films. The biggest issue is that you don’t even get auditions. The first hurdle is securing an audition. After that, everything else follows. Auditions are crucial because the fewer you get, the fewer chances you have of being selected. And that’s why it took so much time." 

Sharing about his character in Vedaa, the well-built Kapil says, ”My character has an ideology—he wants to be successful in life. The explanation given to me about this character was - to succeed in a particular field, you need to be surrounded by certain kinds of people—a godfather so to speak. The guy he works for is a powerful man, and that’s his reason. The second aspect was preparing for the role. There wasn’t anything specific for preparation; what I did was read the script many times. The more you read, the more you connect with your character. Every time you read each line, you discover something new. Staying calm helps this process. Then, when you go on set and put on the specific costume, the character starts to take over. Reading scripts as much as I could really helped me embody the role." The film has been directed by Nikhil Advani who has been famous for films like Kal Ho Na Ho, D-Day and Salaam-E-Ishq. Kapil shares his working equation with the director. ”I think he has an amazing personality. When I first met him, I was surprised to see him right in front of me. I had heard about him. I tried to anticipate what he would be like and when I met him I was pleasantly shocked. He was smiling, which eased my nervousness, and when I greeted him, he expressed his excitement about working together. On set, the experience was fantastic. Things don’t always go as you expect, but he is always on top of everything. He takes great care of his actors and I felt very well looked after. Even during breaks, he notices small details. It might not always be visible, but he pays close attention and keeps the environment comfortable. He operates in his own zone but ensures everyone’s comfort. After each scene, he checks in to see how you felt about it. That’s been my experience, and I was happy shooting with him." 

Kapil who has some heavy action sequences with John Abraham in the film also shares his take on the equation. He says, ”There wasn’t anything specifically discussed about fitness. The focus was more on going on set, greeting the seniors, working well, and then leaving. That’s the reality. Yes, I’ve had conversations with him, but they weren’t about fitness. He shared his experiences—both good and bad—very openly. He’s very sweet and approachable. Whenever he speaks, whether it’s about something small or significant, he does so without hesitation. He openly shares his thoughts about the industry and isn’t concerned about the consequences of his words. He’s very confident. He appreciates your work and motivates you. I remember one instance when we were shooting in a temple. I was sitting about 10-15 feet away, greeted him, and then sat down. He later called out, 'Kapil, you did an amazing job in that scene man!' It’s these small things that really make my day."