Raghav Juyal defends Niharika NM amid actor vs influencer debate: ‘How can you judge?’ | Bollywood News

5 min readMumbaiJul 24, 2026 07:57 AM Content creator Niharika NM, who has 3.4 million followers on Instagram, is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Vivek B Agarwal’s comedy, Bhai Tera Star Hai, opposite Raghav Juyal. She’s already done three South films, and has evaded the debate so far on how casting directors sometimes prefer to cast social media influencers and content creators over struggling actors to make their films more visible.
Niharika NM on influencer vs actor debate
“I don’t care about that debate, actually,” Niharika tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. “Because, building your own platform for a decade gets you a foot in the door, but doesn’t let you stay because you’re still an outsider. If people from within the industry don’t get opportunities… maybe you get to fail once or twice publicly, but you won’t get a career,” she argues.
“I’ll grab any opportunity that aligns with my dreams. I feel no guilt about it. If someone else feels differently, then you also become an influencer. Nahi ho pa raha? I don’t know,” she adds, with a shrug of shoulders. However, she does admit that becoming an actor has liberated her from the burden of managing her own shoots as a content creator.
“That’s the best part! I have my own light dada and sound dada when I’m shooting videos. But on set, I don’t have to do any of that,” says Niharika. However, she adds that the luxury also comes with a double-edged sword. “But also, there’s pressure. Since there are so many people doing so many things for you, so the one job you have, if they say, ‘Arey, ye bhi nahi kar sakti,‘ that part is a little scary. Otherwise I enjoy not setting up my own lights,” she adds.
Raghav Juyal and Niharika NM.
Raghav Juyal defends content creators
Niharika’s Bhai Tera Star Hai co-star Raghav Juyal has had a journey of his own. Having started his career in television as a contestant on the dance reality show Chak Doom Doom 2 on 2011, he secured his debut film role only three years later with Charudutt Acharya’s 2014 comedy Sonali Cable. But for him to bag his upcoming maiden solo lead film, it’s taken 15 years.
“I think it’s weird we compartmentalize and categorize a lot in India. The space I come from — I was a complete back dancer — I cannot do that to anyone. Because who are you to judge, how good someone can do it or not?,” Raghav tells SCREEN. He then quotes the instance of YouTuber Curry Barker’s recent horror hit Obsession and content creator Ashish Chanchlani’s “good, cinematic series Ekaki.
“To slot someone as just a TV actor, just a dancer, or just a comedy actor, breaking that takes such a toll in India that I don’t think it does in any other country,” he adds. “Niharika leaving a place where she’s rocking and is full-fledged on the top, for to have the intelligence to take a risk, leave all of that, and reinvent herself completely takes courage,” argues Raghav.Story continues below this ad
Raghav Juyal on his journey from TV to his first solo-lead movie
Raghav received a major breakthrough as the chief antagon in Nikhil Nagesh Bhatt’s 2024 extreme action film Kill and as the protagon’s sidekick in Aryan Khan’s Netflix India comedy show The Ba***ds of Bollywood last year. “Everything is interconnected in my journey, even TV. My TV audience has woken up again after Kill. But there are also those who ask, ‘Is he the same guy?’ That surprise factor has worked a lot for me,” says Raghav.
However, he believes he always had the belief intact right from his TV days. “Whatever you do, you should do with a lot of confidence. Whether it’s Zlatan, Ronaldo, Elon Musk or Shah Rukh Khan, you can see that self-belief in all the high-performing people. You can see that high self-esteem in them even when they’re doing an odd job,” he argues.
Despite rising the ranks and reinventing his image, Raghav’s trademark slow motion dance is inextricably linked to his personality. But the actor says he doesn’t mind indulging in that if that makes his avid followers happy. “Everyone has a unique trademark. Every star has had a unique trademark, whether it’s Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor or Shah Rukh Khan,” he says.
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The slow motion step has even made it to his new song “Aankhon Se Tune 2.0” from Bhai Tera Star Hai. “Everyone expects me to do the slow motion step, even I’m promoting even Kill, where I play a villain. I just do it. I’m just there to entertain my audience,” he adds. “I walk in slow motion only, so I don’t think I need to do that step as well,” adds Niharika, laughing. Bhai Tera Star Hai is slated to release in cinemas on July 31.