"Bhushan Kumar called me to his office to sign 'A New Love Ishtory' where he gave me an envelope as a signing amount for the film. It contained two 500 rupee notes. I got a text from him later that night -- 'I would love to know you more. Let's get together sometime.' I wrote back saying -- 'Absolutely! Lets go on a double date. You bring your wife. I'll bring my boyfriend.' He never wrote to me again," said Niharika, who never got paid for the project.
It was in 2009 that she signed the indie drama "Miss Lovely", starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui. She says he liked to call himself "Nowaz". Their interactions led them to get closer as Niharika "found him real" after the "superficial 'filmy' interactions" she had had in the past years.
"What is interesting to note is that despite not identifying as a Hindu, he carries deep caste prejudices since he chose to protect the honour of his 'Brahmin' wife after their names came up in the CDR scam while on the other hand, he felt very comfortable painting me as a seductress wearing faux for in his book, who he could sexually exploit, for public imagination."