You know you’ve cracked Bollywood when the maker of this year’s biggest blockbuster casts you in his next. Wamiqa Gabbi is in the enviable position of being a part of Atlee’s next Hindi production, led by Varun Dhawan. The yet-untitled film is the remake of Atlee’s Tamil hit, Theri (2016), and will be helmed by his former assistant director Kalees. Gabbi is naturally elated that the Jawan director showed faith in her.

“I feel lucky and excited to be able to explore opportunities across mediums. For Atlee sir, who just gave the industry the [year’s] biggest hit, to trust me with his next is huge! I am overwhelmed. His trust in me has boosted my self-belief. I hope to do action in the film,” says the actor, as she looks forward to the film rolling this month.

The big Bollywood action fare is Gabbi’s first step towards mainstream Hindi cinema. In a way, it’s natural progression for the actor who has struck gold this year with her OTT offerings—beginning with Vikramaditya Motwane’s Jubilee, and following it up with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley, and Khufiya. A fine balance between commerce and creative satisfaction, she says, is the key to be the artiste that she aspires to be.

“Medium is a producer’s lookout. As an actor, I will still work on my character, go to the set and perform. I understand one thing: if I want to do my kind of work, I need to have that [draw]. Otherwise, people will say, ‘We can’t put money on her.’ So, I am making these choices. But even while doing so, I am cautious and not in a hurry. In the name of mainstream cinema, I don’t want to do projects that I won’t enjoy.”

Rising popularity has clearly brought more opportunities. On the flipside, it has also brought people’s opinions on how she should shape her career. But Gabbi, like many artistes, is guided by her heart. 

“Many people tell me how to go about my career, and I do listen to them. But when it comes to making choices, I see whether a project touches my heart or not. I have said no to so many projects that people said would be good for my career.”

It’s easy to get carried away when you’ve fronted two big shows, helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Vishal Bhardwaj no less, within months of each other. But Wamiqa Gabbi sounds more grounded than exhilarated.

“Before Jubilee came out, I had started to move towards spirituality. If this had happened four to five years ago, success might have gone to my head. But today, I just feel a lot of love,” she smiles.

So far, 2023 has been Gabbi’s year as she kicked it off with Bhardwaj’s short film, Fursat. Motwane’s acclaimed Jubilee, and Modern Love Chennai followed, before she reunited with Bhardwaj on his maiden series, Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley. But all this didn’t come easy. The actor says she was ready to leave the world of cinema in 2019.

“I had auditioned for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Midnight’s Children. By then, I had decided to quit movies, do perhaps one or two films, earn whatever money I could, and travel the world to understand what I wanted to do in life. I had lost all interest in acting. I had been rejected so many times that I thought, ‘Why would Vishal Bhardwaj finalize me?’ But I got shortlisted, and we were sent on a workshop with Atul Mongia. Those three days changed my perspective on my career.”

While the filmmaker did sign her on for Midnight’s Children, it got shelved later. “But all good things started to happen after that,” she beams.

Now, the actor is only a day away from the release of Khufiya, her fourth collaboration with the director. The Netflix espionage thriller will see her share screen space with Tabu and Ali Fazal. In her kitty is the Theri (2016) remake featuring Varun Dhawan. “Today, I am in a position to make a choice. Earlier, it was all about getting work; now, I can be choosy.” 

Bhardwaj has been instrumental in shaping her career, but Gabbi believes he has also influenced how she views the film industry.

“My sensibilities have changed because I have worked with Vishal sir, Vikram sir and Ranjan Chandel [Grahan director]. Vishal sir is like a friend now. Initially, when there were some date issues on Khufiya, I was intimidated to call him and tell him so. But he called and said, ‘I understood why you were inhibited to call me. But remember, one chat can save relationships and we need to put in extra effort to save them.’ Now, even when I have to say no to someone, I make sure I make that call to them.”

“I’ve manifested this,” smiles Priyanshu Painyuli, who has realised his dream of working with Vishal Bhardwaj, thanks to Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley. Four years ago, he was set to lead Bhardwaj’s Midnight’s Children, but the project was shelved. The actor, however, was optimistic that some day, he will get the chance to collaborate with the filmmaker. And his belief has paid off.

Being on a Bhardwaj set, Painyuli says, felt like an exciting match as the duo built his journalist character Sitaram Bisht. “Vishal sir ropes you in with the confidence that you know your craft; he wants to see what you bring to the table. Every day was like playing a new match with him, as I improvised the scenes, and he had fun seeing that. My approach to acting has changed after working with him.” 

The actor has a newfound admiration for the auteur’s keen eye for details. “[He taught me how small things like] keeping a glass on the table after sipping water can also be dramatic.”

Months after her acclaimed series Jubilee, Wamiqa Gabbi will be seen in Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley. Going by the trailer, Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery gets a dark and atmospheric adaptation by Vishal Bhardwaj. Interestingly though, as dramatically different as they are, the murder mystery shares a connection with the popular comedy, Fleabag. Taking a cue from Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character who frequently broke the fourth wall in Fleabag, we hear Gabbi’s detective character too engages in direct conversations with the camera, thus communicating her thoughts to the audience.

The actor says she enjoyed adopting this “intriguing” approach for the first time.

“My character breaks the fourth wall to create a connect with the audiences directly. It’s a creative process to get the viewers involved in Charlie’s expedition of solving the murder mystery. The last time I remember seeing this approach was in Fleabag where Phoebe’s character would stare into the camera during awkward situations. I used it as a reference point,” she says.

The Sony LIV series also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Lara Dutta, Priyanshu Painyuli and Gulshan Grover.