Nikhil Bhagat

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

FIRST ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

The Forgotten gem series started exactly a year ago on Chitravedh and it is truly ‘Qamyab’ like its name. We are thankful to our dear readers for their love, appreciation and continued strong patronage and promise to to bring you the life journey of relatively unknown Bollywood actors who couldn’t make it big but deserve their due recognition. Here’s our rare piece on Nikhil Bhagat.

In the mid-’80s, the ever-gorgeous Dimple Kapadia made a grand comeback to Bollywood. She had left the industry to settle down in marital bliss with superstar Rajesh Khanna after making a spectacular debut in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby (1973). It was only a decade later in 1984 that her second film – an actioner called Zakhmi Sher – released in cinemas though Ramesh Sippy’s love triangle Saagar (1985) was actually the first movie she signed as her comeback vehicle but it got slightly delayed in the making.

Dimple is one of the many actors, who took a break from her career and returned after a brief period of time. Quite a few of them including the one we will discuss in this article, have seemingly left the industry permanently only to reappear in Bollywood after many years.

Nikhil Bhagat, who featured in just two films in the ’80s but gained many fans for his smart and charming looks, is our forgotten gem for today. He disappeared completely from the glamour world after this short stint only to make a comeback in 2015, surprising many!!

In fact, a certain local tabloid compared his comeback to the Oscar winning actress Luise Rainer, whose last film was Hostages in 1943 but made a comeback fifty-four years later with The Gambler in 1997. This feat is considered a record as one of the longest comebacks in the field of acting.

Movie buffs had totally forgotten Nikhil Bhagat after he vanished from the Bollywood scene and nobody knew his whereabouts till 2013 when his mother Maina Bhagat, who is a director of Apeejay Oxford Book Stores brought him at the inaugural Apeejay Literary Festival that year.

Nikhil Bhagat was born in 1964 in Calcutta (presently Kolkata). He was studying at St. Xavier’s College, when he found a notice put up there that noted director Prakash Jha is looking for an athletic football playing youngster for his next film. Nikhil decided to try his luck for this role.

All of nineteen years with a lot of ‘josh’ in him, Nikhil rushed to the hotel where Prakash Jha was staying that time. Upon reaching there, he found more than hundred guys lined up there. Fortunately, most of them left as they didn’t want to wait for a long or got rejected instantly.

Nikhil Bhagat was amongst the shortlisted three and as Jha had taken necessary shooting permissions from a college in Ranchi, he was asked to be ready to travel there immediately. However, Nikhil parents were unaware of this entire incident which seemed almost like a dream then!! The short time Nikhil had with him was to only inform his parents and get his contact lenses ready.

Prakash Jha’s movie was a sports drama titled Hip Hip Hurray (1984), with a cast comprising Raj Kiran, Deepti Naval and Shafi Inamdar. Nikhil’s role was of a notorious high school student called Raghu, who is an excellent football player.

Being born and brought up in Calcutta, Nikhil’s Hindi accent wasn’t up to the mark but Prakash Jha had found his Raghu in him, liking his charismatic appearance and the raw appeal he needed for this character.

On release, Nikhil’s character struck a chord with the youth and he became a heart-throb in his home town. During Hip Hip Hurray’s screening at one of the cinema halls, the audience got to know that Nikhil Bhagat had come to watch the movie and went so crazy that he had to be escorted to the manager’s cabin until the crowd left the cinema hall.

Hip Hip Hurray earned Nikhil a Filmfare nomination for best supporting actor. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it to the function due to his college and eventually, lost out to his peer Anil Kapoor for Mashaal (1984).

Veteran director Shyam Benegal saw Hip Hip Hurray and loved Nikhil’s performance so much that he got in touch with him for his next movie Trikal (1985). This multistarrer had him in a mature role but he was somehow lost amongst the ensemble cast.

Nikhil Bhagat played the younger version of Naseeruddin Shah in Trikal called Ruiz Pereira, a Goan from the Portuguese era. He returns to Goa from Bombay (Mumbai) after many years as the older Ruiz (Naseeruddin Shah), introducing every prime character in the movie. He even introduces himself i.e., Nikhil as “…aur yeh main”!!

After Trikal, Nikhil collaborated with Shyam Benegal again for his TV series Yatra (1986). He had a small role in this series, which no one would hardly remember today.

Nikhil Bhagat never considered acting as his career but it just happened to him. After Hip Hip Hurray and Trikal, he went back to complete his education. After obtaining his graduation degree, he came back to Mumbai to try his luck in films once again.

Sadly, Nikhil realised that the audience had a short memory and he was already forgotten due to his absence. He realised that had he continued in Bollywood after Trikal, his career might have taken shape but sadly, that wasn’t meant to be…

Nikhil Bhagat returned to Calcutta and was not heard for many years. There were rumours floating around that he might have faced some tragic fate after his short Bollywood stint but this was untrue.

Actually, Nikhil ventured in to leather business and became a successful businessman. Today, he owns a company called Orbit Leathers. Over the years, he preferred to live a private life far away from the lights, camera and action stuff…

Almost thirty years after Trikal, Nikhil Bhagat made an unexpected entry in Bollywood. The film was Imtiaz Ali’s highly experimental Tamasha (2015), which had Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone as the main lead. Nikhil played a small yet pivotal role of Deepika’s father in the movie.

Apparently, Nikhil didn’t have to rehearse any dialogue or practice any scenes for his character as he was seen with Deepika Padukone in a song. But when Nikhil appeared on screen, he truly looked ageless retaining his earlier charm and charisma. He could have very well played Deepika’s boyfriend instead of father as her regular co-star Shah Rukh Khan is around the same age as Nikhil.

In one of his interviews, Nikhil regretted losing out on a big opportunity when director Ketan Mehta offered him Holi (1984). Ketan had arranged a meeting to discuss a role which ultimately went to newcomer Aamir Khan. Nikhil couldn’t make it to the meeting due to floods in Calcutta.

Another interesting trivia: During Nikhil’s debut, he was invariably compared to Kunal Kapoor, son of Shashi Kapoor. Coincidentally, both acted together in their final film Trikal. More curiously, both made a comeback in the same year 2015 in two different movies: Kunal Kapoor in Singh Is Bliing and Nikhil Bhagat in Tamasha.

After making a rare appearance in Tamasha, Nikhil Bhagat continues to enjoy his private life and look after his leather business in Kolkata. But then who knows, when he might grace Bollywood next!!