She Came for the Genre, Stayed for the Role and Just pulled off a heist of her own: Nikita Dutta on her role in Netflix & Siddharth Anand’s Jewel Thief-The Heist Begins
~The actor opens up about her love for the heist genre, how her instincts aligned with the script, and why playing Farah felt like something the universe conspired to make happen~
Mumbai, April 24 2025: For Nikita Dutta, Netflix’s Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins, directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal and produced by Siddharth Anand’s Marflix Productions was the kind of film she had long hoped to be part of, stylish, suspenseful, and rooted in a genre she genuinely loves. From the very first narration, the energy of the project resonated with her. It wasn’t just the world of red diamonds and clever schemes that drew her in, it was also the rare opportunity to play a female character with depth, voice, and flair. And for someone who had been watching a lot of heist thrillers recently, the timing felt less like coincidence and more like destiny.
“I happened to get a call from Mamta (Anand), saying that we’re making a film like this, would you be keen? When I heard the script for the first time, I was absolutely on board because I tell you honestly I have been personally really enjoying the genre. Through the different re-workings of the script, we found the beauty of Farah, who has substance, she is finding her voice and has a whole lot of oomph which is what I loved. I’ve realised the kind of films that I really like to watch, is something I also want to be a part of. When it comes to working – we all want to be in films that we enjoy watching. For me because I've been watching a lot of heist films and this came my way, I think that was like an indirect manifestation into the universe because when I heard it I was like 'oh my god, I really wanna be a part of this.' It was a given.”
Co-starring Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Kunal Kapoor, Farah, the character she plays in the film, isn’t just eye-catching, she’s grounded, charismatic, and carries her own weight in a high-stakes world.
She also added “It is one thing when you get a role you’ve almost manifested and it is another when it is with Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Kunal Kapoor. Working on a Siddharth Anand film already felt like a dream come true and then the cast just made this dream a whole lot better. Every shot with Saif, watching Jaideep in front of the camera, seeing the two of them navigate their spaces, was fascinating. They have learnt how to evolve with the times and that has been my biggest take away from the experience, to constantly grow.”
It’s not often an actor gets to align their personal taste with their professional work, but when it happens, it feels like a kind of magic. Adding to the magic recently was a scene that felt straight out of the film, where Nikita AKA Farrah managed to nab the African Red Sun in Mumbai before her movie counterparts. We hope Rehan Roy and Rajan Aulakh are watching because Farah has just changed the game and has pictures to show for it.
Farah and Fate go hand in hand in Netflix’s Jewel Thief- The Heist Begins, streaming from 25th April!
