Sanjeev Satgainya

Kathmandu, April 11:

I can’t imagine how I would handle a boyfriend, my career and studies

Scene 1: A girl from Kolkata was spending her vacation in the tinsel town of dreams (read Mumbai) and was dancing in a disco enjoying her vacation. Could be her steps or the energy she exuded, some people approached her offering her a music video. A quick nod from the girl and the very next day she was shooting for the video with merely two hours of rehearsal.

Scene 2: A couple of weeks later. The girl, now back home, was sleeping and she hears the tune of a song, which sounds quite familiar. She wakes up rushes to the television set and to her amazement there she is on the screen dancing away. “I was so excited to find myself on air that I can’t describe how I shouted and cried,” she still exhilarates. And the same beautiful damsel is here to mesmerise the Kathmanduites with that same number and another number in which she had recently appeared. Nicollete Bird aka Nisha is in the town. Nicollete hit the small screen with her debut performance last year in ‘Sainya dil mein aana re’ video, a mega hit still drawing a good Gen-X and Y crowd.

Since then she has been hot in the music video world. Nicollete will be performing on April 12 at Hyatt in ‘Unleash the power of Nisha’ organised by Krunch Alooz in association with Kathmandu Metro Round Table to celebrate the Nepali New Year Eve. The co-sponsors of the event are The Himalayan Times, Hyatt Regency and McDowell’s. “This is my second visit to Kathmandu and I am really happy this time that I am going to perform for a cause,” says Nicollete. The event is being organised in aid of a school adoption project. Full of smiles, she says, “I never dreamt of being a celebrity so soon. Like other teens, I had a dream of completing my Honours and then flying to Australia or any other country, pursue my MBA and come back.” Nicollete is doing her English honours from Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society in Kolkata.

“I am from a middle class family of Kolkata. My family, specially my parents are open minded but the time when I thought of moving to Mumbai for my career, then they of course hemmed and hawed for some time but later I got the okay,” she chuckles. She was a celebrity overnight with ‘Sainya dil...’ on air. How much change did she find in her life since then? “A lot. I had fans mobbing around. It was difficult for me to attend classes in college. I was busy signing autographs,” she gushes, adding, “When encumbered with ‘celebrity’ status, life obviously changes, there is no doubt and I have left going to college. I am going to sit in the exams directly in June.” Nicollete, like many other teenagers, had not heard the song that made her so famous. “Later on I came to know that the song was picked up from the movie ‘Bahar’ and it has been remixed very nicely. In fact, the video has come out pretty well too and I am happy that I am appreciated in my first video.” After ‘Sainya dil...’ became a hit, offers flooded in. As she appeared in another remix ‘Nisha...’ in a blue tight half pant and a wine glass hanging on one side, it didn’t take much time for her too loot the hearts of many more fans including the earlier ones. What about movie offers? “I am just 19,” she reveals and adds, “I have lot of time to think about my career in movies. At present, I am happy with my videos and modelling. I have been asked by very good names in Bollywood including the likes of Feroz Khan and Rakesh Roshan.”

Carefree and “freakish”, Nicollete was soon re-christened as Nisha after her second video released. “But I love to be called Nicollete and many fans of mine still know me as Nicollete.” Any boyfriends? “Nah! I can’t imagine how I would handle a boyfriend, my career and studies. Education is the most important factor in life which I want to complete first.” That means she still plans to sing ‘Sainya dil mein aana re’ for a little while. Nicollete also appears in several television commercials such as Close-Up, Emami, Nirma, etc. So, Nicollete aka Nisha prevails this last night of 2060. Catch up with her to bid a goodbye to 2060 and welcome 2061.