Born in Coorg, Karnataka and brought up in Calcutta, Nishan is a graduate of Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
He was a professional tennis player, who represented Calcutta University and played many All India and National tournaments.
[3] Nishan debuted in the Hindi film Cycle Kick (Produced by Subhash Ghai), which did not have a theatrical release.
He then got a career break in legendary director Shyamaprasad's Malayalam film Ritu in 2009, (for which he also received great critical acclaim as well as won his Best Debut award), along with a Telugu release Manorama in the same year, opposite lead actress Charmee.
It also completed a run of 100 days (which is very rare and a great feat to achieve for a film with newcomers in today's times).
[2] He got a call from legendary Malayalam director Shyamaprasad during those days, for playing the lead role in his film, Ritu (2009).
This film received positive response from critics and audiences, and is considered a path-breaker for its bold and realistic narration and the innovative style of weaving story threads together.
[citation needed] Nishan's next release was Badlapur Boys (Hindi), directed by newcomer Shailesh Verma.