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), Hate Story (2012) and Tamanchey (2014).[1]
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. His father hailed from Allahabad but Nikhil in his childhood, moved to many cities in India due to his father’s transferable job as a banker.[2] He did his schooling from Sherwood College, Naini Tal before doing his graduation in commerce from Mithibai College, Mumbai. He did his MBA in finance from the Symbiosis Center for Management & HRD, Pune[3] and went on to work with the American Express Bank and another large consumer durables conglomerate before pursuing an acting career.[4][5] He said that he aspired to be an actor since he was three and a half years old.[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.[11] Writing for India Today, Kaveree Bamzai found him “buffed up and excellent” in his part.[12] 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".[13]
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.[14] The film received critical acclaim.[15] 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.”[16] His performance earned him a nomination for the Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance – Male.[17]
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.[18][19] The film emerged as a commercial success.[20] While filming a stunt sequence in it, he fractured his forearms and wrist. This led to delays in filming for his next film, Tamanchey.[21][22] The romantic crime film co-starring Richa Chaddha went on to release in 2014. Dwivedi won a lot of accolades for this role.[23][24]
Citing a lack of good opportunities as an actor, Dwivedi expanded to film production by launching his company Saffron.[25][26] 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.[27] 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.[28] Commercially, it emerged as one of the highest-grossing female-led films of Hindi cinema, grossing ₹138 crore worldwide.[29][30] He next produced the action sequel Dabangg 3 (2019), which marked the third instalment of the cop franchise, starring Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.[31] 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.[32]
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).[33] He said that his background in finance helped him portray the part.[34] The series became one of the most acclaimed and popular streaming productions of India and is amongst the highest rated show on IMDB.[35][36] Film Companion’s Rahul Desai found Dwivedi “unrecognizable” in his part.[37] 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.[38]
Under his production company, Saffron Magicworks, Dwivedi next produced Vikramaditya Motwane’s screenlife thriller for Netflix, named CTRL, starring Ananya Panday, which garnered critical acclaim and was the number 1 film on Netflix for two weeks.[39][40]
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