PIX: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Niharika visit the Rediff office

Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Niharika Singh, who star in next week's release, Miss Lovely, dropped by to chat with Rediff readers. 

Ashim Ahluwalia's intriguing directorial debut Miss Lovely, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and former Miss India Niharika Singh, was made in 2012 and screened at several film festivals abroad.

But it's only now that the film is releasing in India, on January 17.

While curious fans await the film's release, Nawaz and Niharika paid a visit to Rediff office to chat with readers.

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Niharika, seen here chatting with Rediff readers on ZaraBol, plays Pinky -- a C-grade actress -- in the film.

Niharika, who'd been out giving interviews the whole day at various media offices in the city, was famished by the time she reached Rediff but the dedicated actress refused to touch the Subway sandwich ordered for her. In the end, she took the sub home with her.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who created quite a stir in the Rediff office with his presence and humility, thinks hard before answering a question on the chat.

Amidst loud cheers, applause and request for pictures, the actor gave a very interesting interview (more on that later), describing his extraordinary journey from obscurity to fame.

Niharika pets the office cat as she and Nawaz take questions in a video interview.

New to online chatting with fans, Niharika was pretty kicked about touching base with her fans and insisted on keying in her own answers.

The actor duo, with their film's release date nearing, couldn't have been more excited.

Nawaz, who'll soon be seen in Salman Khan starrer Kick (set for an Eid release this year), is keenly looking forward to start shooting for the film, which will reportedly begin in March this year.

Meanwhile, Nawaz shared his harrowing experience of trying to kiss Niharika in the film as he was extremely hesitant in the beginning.

Calm and collected amidst all the madness, the actor flinches at the mere mention of romance during the interview.

"I don't know what romance is but I'm sure it isn't what they show in Hindi films," he quipped.

Meanwhile, Nawaz's costar was her candid best on the chat too.

Reader Nitin G asked, "Hi, Niharika...don't you think doing a film like Miss Lovely is like taking a big risk, it may be appreciated but the audience makes a particular image about you which is difficult to shed. How would you come out of it?"

To which, she replied, "I'm not interested in having a sanitized image of myself. I'm interested in complex characters and I'll always be interested in portraying them whenever i get the opportunity."

Nawazuddin poses with the year-end issue of India Abroad, the oldest newspaper published out of North America for Indian Americans. It is owned by rediff.com

Niharika, who was crowned Miss India Earth in 2005, has worked in John Matthew Matthan's A New Love Ishtory and Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa.

She has also featured in various TV commercials and music videos.

Talking about her first brush with the C-grade film industry in Mumbai, Nawaz said on the chat, "I didn't do much research for this role but when I came to Mumbai in 2000, I met a lot of people in the C-grade industry. So somewhere, I could connect to the role I was playing in this movie."