Nikita Dutta Learned Acting "From Zero" Through Intense On-Set Training

In a recent interview, actress Nikita Dutta looked back on her decade-long career in the entertainment industry. Marking 10 years since her debut, Dutta spoke candidly about entering the field without any formal acting training and the unique way she learned her craft.

"When I started acting, I was actually somebody who had taken zero acting lessons or workshops in my life," Dutta revealed. Instead, she was "directly on a television set where I was acting 14-15 hours a day, 63 days at a stretch without an off." Dutta explained that while this intense on-set experience was "difficult and brutal," it allowed her to pick up a lot of her acting skills.

Dutta shared that her early years on set became her classroom, as she was "around people who had actually come from the New York Film Academy and had learned acting." These seasoned performers would frequently discuss films and performances, leaving Dutta feeling "so out of place" and wondering if she belonged there. However, she later realized that many of those "genius-level people" were no longer working today, while her constant practice in front of the camera had paid off.

"I realised none of them are working today, unfortunately. But whatever I managed to pick up was by just being in front of the camera. I always tell people this is not a medium where you can learn -- you just need to keep practising," Dutta said.