Nikhil Dwivedi

Nikhil Dwivedi
Dwivedi in 2022
Born	(1978-11-25) 25 November 1978 (age 46) Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupations	Actor producer
Years active	2008–present
Organisation	Saffron Magicworks
Spouse	Gaurie Pandit ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	1

Nikhil Dwivedi (born 25 November 1978) is an Indian actor and producer. After pursuing an MBA degree, he left a corporate career to pursue acting. He made his acting debut with a leading role in the 2008 crime comedy film My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves, and went on to appear in such films as Raavan (2010), Shor in the City (2011), and Hate Story (2012).

Dwivedi ventured into film production with the comedy Veere Di Wedding (2018), which ranks among the highest-grossing female-led Hindi films of all time. He has since produced the mythological television series Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran (2019–2020), the action sequel film Dabangg 3 (2019), and the Netflix thriller film CTRL (2024). He also returned to acting by playing the antagonist of the acclaimed biographical thriller series Scam 1992 (2020).

Early life

Nikhil Dwivedi was born on 25 November 1978 in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. During his childhood, he moved to many cities in India due to his father’s transferable job as a banker. He did his graduation in commerce from Mithibai College, Mumbai. He did his MBA in finance from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune and went on to work with the American Express Bank and another large consumer durables conglomerate before pursuing an acting career.^[1][2] He said that he aspired to be an actor since he was three and a half years old.^[3]

Career

Dwivedi made his acting debut in the crime comedy film My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (2008), directed by E. Niwas and co-starring Amrita Rao and Mithun Chakraborty. He played the title role of an aspiring actor who unwittingly becomes embroiled in crime.^[4] Patsy N of Rediff.com wrote that he “shows potential” in his first role.^[5] He was nominated for the Stardust Award for Superstar of Tomorrow – Male.^[6]

His next film release was as part of an ensemble cast of Mani Ratnam’s adventure film Raavan, led by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Vikram. Inspired by the Indian epic of Ramayana, he was cast in a role based on Lakshmana.^[7] Writing for India Today, Kaveree Bamzai found him “buffed up and excellent” in his part.^[8] He later stated, "I am very proud of Ravaan. It didn't do well at the box office but for me it was a step up. My performance was noticed even though the role was small".^[9]

Dwivedi was part of another ensemble cast in the crime film Shor in the City (2011), playing the role of a petty criminal. He said that he agreed to the film due to the strong script and not the size of his role.^[10] The film received critical acclaim.^[11] Reviewing the film for The Times of India, Gaurav Malaini opined, “Nikhil Dwivedi, despite being restrained, has a strong screen presence and is especially impressive in the concluding reels.”^[12] His performance earned him a nomination for the Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance – Male.^[13]

In 2012, Dwivedi had a starring role alongside Paoli Dam and Gulshan Devaiah in Hate Story, an erotic thriller directed by Vivek Agnihotri. He was initially offered the darker role played by Devaiah, but opted to play a more straight-laced character, citing shyness over intimate scenes.^[14][15] The film emerged as a commercial success.^[16] While filming a stunt sequence in it, he fractured his forearms and wrist. This led to delays in filming for his next film, Tamanchey.^[17][18] The romantic crime film co-starring Richa Chaddha went on to release in 2014. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in found him “miscast” in his part.^[19]

Citing a lack of good opportunities as an actor, Dwivedi expanded to film production by launching his company Saffron.^[20][21] He said that working on independent productions as an actor, particularly Tamanchey, he had to make several executive decisions on set, which prepared him to transition into production.^[22] He collaborated with Rhea Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor to produce Veere Di Wedding (2018), a female-led comedy starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Sonam Kapoor.^[23] Commercially, it emerged as one of the highest-grossing female-led films of Hindi cinema, grossing ₹138 crore worldwide.^[24][25] He next produced the action sequel Dabangg 3 (2019), which marked the third instalment of the cop franchise, starring Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.^[26] Also in 2019, he produced the mythological television series Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran, based on the Hindu scriptures Bhagavata Purana, which aired weekly on Colors TV.^[27]

Dwivedi returned to acting after six years by playing the role of a scheming banker in Scam 1992. Directed by Hansal Mehta, the series released on Sony LIV and is about the life of stockbroker Harshad Mehta (played by Pratik Gandhi).^[28] He said that his background in finance helped him portray the part.^[29] The series became one of the most acclaimed and popular streaming productions of India.^[30] Film Companion’s Rahul Desai found Dwivedi “unrecognizable” in his part.^[31] He then appeared in the Netflix anthology film Ankahi Kahaniya (2021), in a segment about infidelity directed by Saket Chaudhary. Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost bemoaned that his character of an unfaithful man needed better writing.^[32]

Under his production company, Saffron Magicworks, Dwivedi next produced Vikramaditya Motwane’s screenlife thriller for Netflix, named CTRL, starring Ananya Panday, and will next produced an as-yet untitled project directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Bobby Deol and Sanya Malhotra.^[33][34]

Personal life

Dwivedi with his wife Gaurie

Dwivedi married model and actress Gaurie Pandit in early 2011.^[35] The couple has a son, Shivaan.^[36]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Actor	Producer	Notes
2008	My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves	Yes	No
2010	Raavan	Yes	No
2011	Shor in the City	Yes	No
2012	Hate Story	Yes	No
2014	Tamanchey	Yes	No
2018	Veere Di Wedding	No	Yes
2019	Dabangg 3	No	Yes
2021	Ankahi Kahaniya	Yes	No	Saket Chaudhary's segment
2024	CTRL	No	Yes
2021	Anurag Kashyap's untitled next	No	Yes	Filming[34]

Television

Year	Title	Actor	Creator	Producer	Notes
2019-2020	Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran	No	Yes	Yes
2020	Scam 1992	Yes	No	No	Sony Liv miniseries

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref(s)
2009	Filmfare Awards	Best Male Debut	My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves	Nominated	[37]
2009	Stardust Awards	Superstar of Tomorrow - Male		Nominated	[6]
2012		Breakthrough Performance - Male	Shor in the City	Nominated	[13]
2020	ETC Bollywood Business Awards	The 100 Crore Club	Dabangg 3	Won	[38]

References

1. "'I feel fortunate': Nikhil". The Times of India. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
2. Dasgupta, Piali (5 September 2010). "B-town's teacher tales". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
3. "My name is Nikhil Dwivedi". Mumbai Mirror. 17 December 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
4. Guha, Dighanta (11 January 2008). "I have an author-backed role: Nikhil Dwivedi". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
5. N, Patsy (11 January 2008). "Anthony is total timepass". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
6. "Nominations for Pan Bahar Max Stardust Awards 2009". Bollywood Hungama. 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
7. Patel, Devansh (3 August 2009). ""I don't know how much Raavan will benefit me" – Nikhil Dwivedi". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
8. Bamzai, Kaveree (2 July 2010). "Raavan: Boy blunder lost in an epic mess". India Today. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
9. "Nikhil Dwivedi fed up talking about Shah Rukh Khan". India Today. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
10. Patel, Devansh (28 April 2011). ""I chose Shor In The City because it had a strong storyline" – Nikhil Dwivedi". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
11. "'The Family Man' is closest to our 'Shor in the City': Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK". The New Indian Express. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
12. Malani, Gaurav (28 April 2012). "Shor in the City: Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
13. "Nominations of Stardust Awards 2012". Bollywood Hungama. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
14. Sahu, Deepika (14 April 2012). "'Hate Story' has become the talking point: Nikhil Dwivedi". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
15. "'Hate Story' is India's 'Basic Instinct': Nikhil Dwivedi". The Indian Express. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
16. "Hate Story". Box Office India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
17. Thakkar, Mehul S (29 February 2012). "Nikhil to undergo surgery". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
18. Kotwani, Hiren (8 December 2011). "Nikhil's fracture delays his film". Mid Day. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
19. Ramnath, Nandini (10 October 2014). "'Tamanchey' fires blanks from start to finish". Scroll.in. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
20. Joshi, Tushar (21 November 2020). ""Some of the biggest star kids have not got films, don't you think they have relationships with the industry?" asks Nikhil Dwivedi". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
21. Kotwani, Hiren (2 June 2018). "'I want to back good content': Nikhil Dwivedi reveals why he turned producer with Veere Di Wedding". DNA India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
22. Chakraborty, Juhi (30 June 2018). "Nikhil Dwivedi: I used to manage Richa Chadha's shoot dates". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
23. "Nikhil Dwivedi debuts as a producer for Rhea Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor". Bollywood Hungama. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
24. "Female Centric Movies (India Box Office Lifetime)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
25. "Veere Di Wedding". Box Office India. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
26. "Shah Rukh Khan, Salman's film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali 'almost happened,' reveals Dabangg 3 producer Nikhil Dwivedi". Firstpost. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
27. "Colors premiere Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran - A saga blending mythology and philosophy". Afaqs!. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
28. Ghosh, Samrudhi (12 November 2020). "Nikhil Dwivedi says he turned to production as he 'was not offered good work', talks about returning to acting with Scam 1992". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
29. Chandar, Bhukanesh (9 November 2020). "Nikhil Dwivedi: No insider sabotaged my success in Bollywood". Cinema Express. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
30. Mathew, Suresh (29 October 2020). "Decoding the Success of Hansal Mehta's 'Scam 1992'". The Quint. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
31. Desai, Rahul (4 November 2020). "The Performative Harmony Of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
32. Vetticad, Anna M. M. (17 September 2021). "Ankahi Kahaniya movie review: Of mannequins, men, infidelity and urban angst". Firstpost. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
33. Seta, Fenil (27 April 2023). "Ananya Panday's cyber thriller is titled Control; Vikramaditya Motwane reveals that "it is a 'computer-generated' movie, flitting between screens"". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
34. "Bobby Deol and Sanya Malhotra begin shooting for Anurag Kashyap's next". The Times of India. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
35. "News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News18. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011.
36. "How Bollywood kids dressed up for Ahil Sharma's Halloween party!". The Times of India.
37. Webmaster (16 February 2009). "Nominations for the 54th Filmfare Awards". Radio Sargam (RS). Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
38. "ETC Bollywood Business Awards 2020". Koimoi. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.

External links

• Nikhil Dwivedi at Bollywood Hungama
• Nikhil Dwivedi at IMDb