Entertainment
“Being part of the vertical short drama format quite early on feels exciting”, says actor Nishant Malkani on signing Pocket TV’s Rishqiyaan
Nishant Malkani, an actor widely praised for his diverse roles across platforms, continues to win people’s hearts with his charisma in the short drama space as well. Nishant, known for bringing depth and authenticity to every role that he’s essayed, has now stepped into a new avatar with Pocket TV’s short-drama series Rishqiyaan.
On his reasons to sign ‘Rishqiyaan’, Nishant reveals, “I shot a promo for the audio series ‘Insta Empire’ with Pocket FM last year marking my first collaboration with them. The show did extremely well, and a lot of the audience was connecting with me, piquing my interest towards the short drama format. So when I was approached for Rishqiyaan on Pocket TV, it was an instant yes. Short dramas are the next big thing in India’s entertainment space. Being part of this bandwagon early on feels exciting and natural to me. The team is professional and the stories are really interesting. In fact, my parents love watching shows on Pocket TV on their phones as it’s convenient. This shows the evolved content consumption habits across generations.”
‘Rishqiyaan’ is a heartfelt story of love, trust and perseverance that follows the journey of Arohi (played by Yukti Kapoor), a strong and simple girl from Rajasthan. She began working in Delhi after the loss of her father, only to be betrayed by her fiancé and cousin. Her life takes a drastic turn when she meets Raghav (played by Nishant Malkani), a multimillionaire posing as a beggar, who is moved by her compassion and stands by her through struggles.
Talking about his character, Nishant says, “My role is like a modern-day fairy tale – I play Raghav – a man who appears to be a beggar but is secretly a billionaire. He’s on a quest to find love. Another reason Raghav’s character immediately stuck a chord with me is that I love the character’s name. It is named after one of my favourite Gods, Sri Ram and that’s why it instantly resonated with me. Raghav is an honest character, but due to the circumstances of life, he’s unable to reveal who he actually is. In that process, he finds real people around him. He values them and becomes protective towards them. This character was tailor-made for me.”
Speaking on the future of short dramas, he adds, “The audience today enjoys scrolling quick content be it reels and shorts on their phones. But if you can actually get a professional drama, a professionally short series in the vertical format, it’s really convenient and entertaining to watch that. This format is only here to grow and be more popular. Brands like Pocket TV are one of the leading platforms who are coming up with interesting content.”
