Nikki Tamboli: I lost my brother, my family was in shambles, it was difficult to perform

Nikki Tamboli’s decision to fly to Cape Town to shoot for reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi, just two days after her brother’s death, drew sharp criticism with many calling her out for “enjoying” soon after the tragedy. However, the actor couldn’t care less about the trolls and says she was doing her job and no one can shame her for that.

“People took it the wrong way. I was already dealing with so much mentally. They said such horrible things about me going to Cape Town leaving my family behind,” she recalls, adding, “But people will always have something to say no matter what you do. Why should I care about that? They’re going to judge you and pass comments anyway. I was doing my job, apne commitment se peechhe nahi hati main. The thought of quitting never came to my mind. I was being a true professional, I don’t care what people have to say.”

The actor shares that what people don’t know is that it was her parents, in fact, who insisted that she go and do her job.

“I just wanted to move on, and keep taking challenges and risk. Doing the show was a risk for me because I left my mum and dad in that situation where they couldn’t handle themselves, but still they were my backbone. They told me that you’ve to go there because you have your commitment, and not matter what the situation is, just don’t give up. They’re proud of me,” she explains.

As for the flak on social media, Tamboli took it all her in a positive way, and used all of it to put her best foot forward on the show. “I went there and gave my best. I’m proud of myself,” she says, and is quick to admit that it was a very difficult phase for her.

“Mentally, I was very disturbed and not prepared to do my best. My family was in shambles, I lost my brother. It was very difficult for me to perform and reach that expectation. I’m just 24 and not that mature to handle the situation,” says the actor.

While she misses her brother a lot, Tamboli says immersing herself in work has been helpful. “I have music videos coming up and I’m in talks for some films down south and web series. Work has been healing for me,” she ends.