Nikhil: There's a hand of God behind my success

Oscar Wilde once said, "Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result." But Nikhil believes God is responsible for the success of his last release Surya vs Surya.

"I feel there's a hand of God behind my success streak. And that's the reason why I got my head tonsured in Tirumala," says an elated Nikhil, having scored a hatrick of hits. "I was shocked when I saw that the occupancy rates, even on a weekday, were about 50% in its third week. I dropped my plans to go on a holiday to promote the film," adds the actor.

The film tells the love story of Surya, who suffers from a rare genetic disease that makes susceptible to sunlight. Building on the success of his last two releases — Swamy Ra Ra and Karthikeya — the actor is happy to have found his niche. "I've realised that audiences are willing to forgive flaws if there are enough impressive elements in the film. A quirky film has every chance to succeed at the box-office, provided it is made well. There are takers for new ideas and innovative storytelling techniques," explains Nikhil, who seems to have become the toast of T-Town.

"There's a big change in the way people treat me these days. A lot of people in the industry were surprised with the opening weekend collections of Surya vs Surya. Many top production houses and directors have evinced their interest to work with me," reveals Nikhil.

or someone who was tipped to be the next Mass Maharaja (Ravi Teja) in the making, Nikhil's glad to have found his onscreen self. "I have learnt from my past mistakes. Life is all about trial and error, isn't it? In the past, I was part of some bad films. But I wouldn't have known where I was going wrong, if not for those failures. However tempting it might be, I'll do a mass film only when the time is right. The focus right now is on doing more concept-oriented films," the actor confesses.

So what's next? "I am planning to take a break and head to the USA to do an acting course for 45 days. I have been planning to do this for a long time and I have plenty of time before starting my next project. I want to grow more as an actor and I am slowly feeling the pressure to up my game," Nikhil signs off.

TOI