Rider will establish Nikhil Kumaraswamy as skilled dancer

Entertainment has taken a backseat for Nikhil Kumaraswamy in recent times. Instead, he has been spending time with family, helping out with Covid relief work, and lending a helping hand in general. “This is a small effort on my part. I’m hoping that things get back to normal soon,” he says, adding that at the beginning of this year there was this assumption that the worst was over, not realising the onslaught of the second wave.

“The damage could have been controlled had measures been taken at an early stage,” says Nikhil, who is now spreading awareness on the importance of vaccinations. “I will be travelling to various villages to spread word on this,” says the actor who himself tested positive for Covid-19. He contracted the virus post the shooting schedule of his upcoming film, Rider which took place in Leh.

Now, having fully recovered, he looks back and says he went ahead and participated in the shooting at the call of the producer. “Rider is not being made under my home banner. As an actor, I felt it was my duty to go by the decision of the producers. They intended to complete the shooting and never anticipated the ferocity of the second wave. Thankfully, we are all fine,” he says.

The makers are left with just 10 days of shooting, which includes a song sequence. Interestingly, Nikhil has proved his mettle as a mass hero, right from his first film Jaguar, and Rider will see him explore his dancing skills. The team, which is planning to resume shooting sometime in July or so, is currently doing rehearsals. “The film written and directed by Vijay Kumar Konda and produced by Chandru Manoharan has come out well. Rider, according to me, is a feel-good film, and this particular dance number will be an invitation to a mass crowd. It will be one of the highlights of the commercial entertainer,” says Nikhil, who did not confirm the release plans. “I want to complete the shooting before I move onto my next project. The release will be handled by the production house,” he adds.

Meanwhile, speculation in the industry is that Seetharama Kalyana actor will be featuring alongside Shivarajkumar in Nanda Kishore’s directorial. “I am looking forward to sharing space with a legend like Shivanna, provided it is a good story. But it is too early to talk about the film,” responds the actor.  There is also a strong buzz that Nikhil has given a green signal to his next project, which is currently in the pre-production process and set to go on floors. The actor is tight-lipped on this and mentioned that he will wait for the production house to make a formal announcement.