Ever since her baby years, Wamiqa Gabbi has found herself in front of the camera. These days, she has cemented her place as an actor to watch out for with a succession of impressive performances in a variety of genres and languages.
It was a time when life seemed to be going full circle. When Wamiqa Gabbi saw Devdas (2002), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, she was nine years old. The lavishness of the movie, the elaborate scenery, and the elegant dancing scenes became to be her obsessions. She was also studying kathak at the time, and in her native Chandigarh, she competed in several dance events with Madhuri Dixit's "Kaahe Chhed Mohe." As she began her acting career in the following years, she was certain that movies like Devdas were no longer produced. Instead, films lacked the exquisitely staged mujra scenes of the past.
Therefore, her happiness was immeasurable when she executed a mujra during her character Niloufer's entrance in Vikramaditya Motwane's Jubilee, over 20 years later. This year, the OTT series, which is centered on the rise of the Hindi cinema business in post-Partition India, debuted to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Jubilee became one of Gabbi's greatest blockbusters to date because of her depiction of Niloufer, a feisty and independent-minded prostitute who pursues her dream of becoming an actress. Motwane claims that Gabbi has a "gorgeous" on-screen presence in addition to understanding the subtlety and emotion that a filmmaker is looking for.
In order to comprehend the character's past, she took notes in a little notebook during the filming, as he recalls. In order to convey a feeling of tale, he explains, "that's very helpful for an actor." It's hard to picture anybody else playing Niloufer to the same degree as Gabbi, says Aparna Purohit, head of originals, India and SEA, Prime Video, the site on which Jubilee was aired. Wamiqa's outstanding performance is evident in the fact that, even months after the show's premiere, she is still associated with Niloufer.
Gabbi replaced Niloufer in the title character of Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley, the television series adaption of Agatha Christie's The Sittaford Mystery directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. Then, under Bhardwaj's direction, she co-starred alongside Tabu in the film Khufiya on Netflix. Along the way, she also played a lead in the Punjabi film Kali Jotta and acted in a surreal and meta short film directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja for the Modern Love Chennai anthology. In Bhardwaj's short film Fursat, she also played the lead role.
She is filming a movie with Varun Dhawan as her co-star on Day 1. Atlee, the film's director, is producing the remake of the Tamil movie Theri. As someone who has never worked in cinema and has no contacts, I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to work with some of the finest filmmakers and land fantastic jobs. Fortunate, since I am aware that there exist more gifted and attractive performers who are deprived of such chances.
And because I have these opportunities, I'm attempting to take advantage of them and work as hard as I can," adds Gabbi, 30, who is also listed by IMDb as one of the Top 10 most well-liked performers in India for 2023. "Amazing-sa lagta hai," she continues.
Gabbi's father reportedly said within fifteen minutes of Gabbi's birth that she would become a "dramebaaz," or theatrical person. As a literary writer, he supported the arts, took the little child to see plays at the theater, and signed her up for kathak lessons. In actuality, Gabbi claims that at the age of two, she faced the camera for the first time. "It was for a music video in Punjabi song featuring a girl child, which I can't find online now," she continues. When she was in class 5, she was cast in a little larger role in the Partition-themed Punjabi TV series Saude Dilaan De.
She appeared in the famous Imtiaz Ali film Jab We Met, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor, while she was in class 8. She portrayed a cousin of Geet and had a few lines of conversation. The adolescent girl working on that set, according to Gabbi, "used to wonder if she would ever get to play the lead role in a film." However, the Jab We Met director saw something special in the little braces-wearing girl, whom he still calls "chhotiwali" [little one]. Though not shocked, Imtiaz Ali expresses happiness that Gabbi is doing well. Furthermore, he says he won't be shocked if she does much more.
“She was a pleasure to work with, even at her young age."I remember asking my assistants to call for the chhotiwali if there was anything more to be done while we were filming in Nabha," the director recollects. "Wamiqa quickly emerged as the unit's favorite.That's when I realized she's naturally talented and can go anyplace. Fortunately, she has always had the support of her family and father. According to Gabbi, her father used to take her to Delhi for auditions.Her first major motion picture role was a lackluster appearance in the 2013 movie Sixteen.In addition to working in South Indian films, such as the Telugu film Bhale Manchi Roju (2015) and the Malayalam feature Godha (2017), she began receiving offers for Punjabi films.
She also experienced other rejections following auditions along the road, including one for a part in the popular movie Dangal (2016). Gabbi continued to work until she felt that she was just portraying different versions of herself on TV, which made her want to give up. The performer claims that because she lacked professional acting instruction, she was ignorant of the importance of honing her trade. Then, in 2019, something happened that altered her career's course.
Gabbi was selected for a shortlist after trying out for the main part in Bhardwaj's ambitious Netflix adaptation of Salman Rushdie's book Midnight's Children. But by now, she had lost her excitement at being shortlisted. She had been so accustomed to last-stage rejections that, upon learning that the director would make a choice following a three-day workshop with acting coach Atul Mongia, she approached the situation believing she had nothing to lose. According to Gabbi, it might have been this bravery that impressed Bhardwaj.
"She has real emotional capability and intelligence beyond a person of her age," he says, adding that she could add dimensions to the character beyond what was put on paper. He first saw her at that session. She has a "fighting spirit you find in people from smaller cities," according to him. Bhardwaj claims that because he is also from a tiny village in Meerut, he could relate to this. Despite the cancellation of Midnight's Children, news spread that Gabbi had been cast in the lead role, which led to additional and better audition possibilities. Although Khufiya would be released after other films, Gabbi would collaborate with Bhardwaj again on that project.
Since Charu in Khufiya was the mother of a six-year-old son, several performers in the Hindi film business turned down the role. Wamiqa transcended those kinds of confines. "She didn't even hear the script because she trusted me enough," he says. The young actor's career was given a feeling of responsibility by Bhardwaj, who went on to cast her in three more films. According to Gabbi, Grahan (2021), a critically acclaimed OTT series that was a drama set against the backdrop of the 1986 riots, was another breakthrough role in her career. Critic of films Udita Jhunjhunwala concurs. "Wamiqa stood out against the usually depressing tone of the play, and I was interested to see what else she might accomplish.
Afterwards, she had several roles in Mai and Modern Love Mumbai, but her performance in Jubilee was especially noteworthy. According to Wamiqa, there was a lot to gnaw on.
Having collaborated with Bhardwaj four times, Gabbi notes that "it can be difficult to break out of that mould when working with the same directors." Nevertheless, she views Gabbi as a "aware and thinking woman who knows she has to evolve."The highly anticipated commercial film featuring Varun, Gabbi, is anticipated by critics. We are accustomed to watching Wamiqa portray important roles in unconventional over-the-top content. Gabbi might be more disciplined, according to Motwane, who advises the budding star to "not revert to default settings when she gives her first take."
She is committed to honing her art and is headed for success. I hope she keeps doing that indefinitely. When we achieve success, we frequently quit honing our craft. Bhardwaj laughs and continues, "But if Wamiqa stops doing that, I'm always there to beat her with a stick, like a teacher." Gabbi realizes that celebrity is fleeting as she relishes this moment in her life. She is currently enjoying making new friends and picking up knowledge from them. The actor explains, "As actors, we can get so self-obsessed, but I'm interested and curious about other people now." "I just hope I'm still able to dance even if I have a setback or a difficult period in the future."
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