Life got better after Chennai Express: Nikitin Dheer

, who caught many eyeballs thanks to his portrayal of the mean man Thangvalli in the film, (2013), says that his life changed for better after the movie.

“I am glad that life has changed for the better after Chennai Express. Earlier, there were times that I used to go and tell people that I know my craft and that there is more to me than my physique. Chennai Express has helped me prove that I do know my craft,” says the actor. Talking about his ­future plans, Nikitin is quite pepped up about being one of the ­contestants in the ­upcoming edition of ­adventure-based reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. The show will air later this month on TV channel, Colors. Talking about the same, he says, “My experience of being on the show has been fantastic. I wanted to ­challenge myself and see how I react to s­ituations that I am not ­comfortable in. I am not a very competitive person by nature. I wanted to try ­something which was way out of my comfort zone and I am glad I did this show.”

Nikitin rubbishes the rumours that he took up the show because filmmaker Rohit Shetty was hosting it.

“There are many who feel that I took up the show because of Rohit sir, since we have worked together before. But, the fact is that I got to know about him being the host much later, after I had signed it. Rohit is like an elder brother. There couldn’t have been a better person to host the show,” the actor says. Nikitin had made his Bollywood debut as the ­primary antagonist in ­filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical drama, Jodhaa Akbar (2006).