Mumbai, Nov 9 (IANS): Actress Niharica Raizada says although she is academically qualified for a career in medicine, acting was always her true calling.

"I was doing well academically and I realised that acting is my true calling. It was something really hard for me to explain to my parents. It's a calling, perhaps a strong calling. I think India as a whole has always been my calling, it represents enthusiasm, dynamism and youth, something on which I can build upon," Niharica said.

Grand-daughter of late legendary composer OP Nayyar, she was raised in Luxembourg and studied medicine in London. She was crowned Miss India UK 2010 and was runner-up at Miss India Worldwide 2010. Moving to Mumbai was a leap of faith but not without preparation.

"It is important to identify your assets and be very sure about them, because the competition is really tough. I had the linguist advantage, my family has a film background, and I also had the European heritage side, besides the Miss India and Miss India Worldwide titles, so all in all there were a couple of things that made me stand out and on the basis of that I took the leap of faith," she said.

Talking about the changing dynamics of the entertainment industry and the impact of social media, Niharica added: "Today, everybody is an actor. Everyone is on a digital and social platform trying to create something and presenting themselves on some sort of a screen. That is insane and incredible at the same time, as it changes the meaning of what it meant to be on the screen."

"One thing is going to change. Big stars charging huge amounts for their work will go down. The second evolution will be all these types of media that exist -- you will find certain kinds of people only on certain kinds of media, such as big celebrities only on the big screen, and young influencers and social media personalities on digital platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. I love cinema, so my preference will always be to remain on the big screen," she continued.

So far, Niharica has 16 films to her name. She was last seen in "Total Dhamaal", and is now gearing up for the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer "Sooryavanshi" to hit the screens.