Nia Sharma: I am done being called a diva and fashionista

There’s more to Nia Sharma than just her fashion sense, and that’s what the actor wants people to focus on. She confesses she wants people to recognize her as an artist now.

“I want to be known as a performer authentically. I want to be known as somebody who can be relied upon. I want to be known as someone who can instantly be considered for a performance oriented role, and want people to think ‘Hey, if this is a woman centric role, Nia can be a good fit’,” Sharma tells us.

The 31-year-old continues, “I want to grow on to that level and I want people to grow on that level too. I’m done being called a diva or a fashionista or someone who is known for the looks”.

In the past few years, Sharma has made quite a flutter for her fashion sense, which sometimes have been dubbed as most stylish, daring, or bold. She has often faced trolling on social media as well for her sartorial choices.

Now, she might want people to acknowledge her for the craft as an actor, but she doesn’t shun away the fashionable side of her personality.

“That is my Instagram. That is how I live in that space, and how I dress up (in my life). But that doesn’t define me, right? That can’t be my only definition, or it can’t be the only factor that I’m known for. I am really hoping and praying that I really get to work on projects where respect comes, a lot of money comes and also the tag of being a performer comes,” says the actor.

In fact, that was the reason she did her recent music video, Hairaan, alongside Kunaal Roy Kapur. She reveals she has done 11 music videos till now, and just one or two had been performance-oriented.

“It took me just five minutes to say yes to the music video because of the storyline where I am a con artist. Mostly music videos pretty much have romance, or dancing around, or one is used for beauty shots. This was a properly performance oriented music video,” she says, adding, “It has been a while since I’ve acted and since I’ve taken up any project where I have got something to perform. Also, the feedback is also centred around my performance, not about my clothes and how badly I dress and how much I reveal”.

But does that make her extra selective when it comes to picking her next project?

“Everybody talks about how selective I am. But to be selective, I have to be getting calls and have to be getting work, which unfortunately, I don’t know why for some reason, I have not been very blessed to have those kinds of choices in my life right now. Music videos are all I have, and I pretty much say yes to them,” confessed the actor, who has featured in shows such as Jamai Raja, Ishq Mein Marjawan and Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai.

The actor asserts that she is “not selective” at this moment. “All I need is work and a project where I can just perform and feel like an actor once again because it’s been a while,” she concludes.