Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS): Actress Nikki Sharma credits Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre for her rising career in television.

"I was just a young girl when I began my journey. I started out by being part of a talent show where Sonali Bendre ma'am was the judge. I had gone quite far ahead in the competition, before I got eliminated and just before I left the show, Sonali ma'am met me and told me that I should try acting on television. I took her advice seriously and took the plunge," said Nikki.

"However, the initial journey was a bit difficult. But I still managed to learn quite a lot, especially after I found myself exploring different kind of roles. I will have to say that she actually convinced me to venture into acting and without her advice, I wouldn't be here today," added the actress.

While her friends were aware that she would step into acting or modelling, it was quite a task to convince her parents.

"Coming from a strong academic background, I had to really persuade them to let me audition for shows and that's what made me realise my love for showbiz. I got my acting break in 2015 and there is no looking back now. Acting has always been my passion and I have learnt it live on sets by working with some of the biggest names and I wouldn't have done it any different," said the "Dehleez" actress.

Nikki will soon share screen space with actor Pearl V. Puri in "Brahmarakshas 2".

Set against the backdrop of Songadh, the fantasy fiction show depicts the journey of an ordinary young woman, Kalindi, whose destiny gets entwined with an evil force, and a drastic twist of fate has her drawing all her inner strength to combat the wicked Brahmarakshas.