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.”

No matter what role he plays, Pavan Malhotra wears his characters like second skin. Once done, he moves on to the next, unlike those who take months to get in and out of characters. The actor calls them “frauds”. “I can only act when the camera is switched on. Why should I act in real life? People who claim to be stuck in a character for three months and need a therapist to get out of a role only sound nice. I played a rapist in Brother In Trouble (1995). It doesn’t mean I will go out and behave that way,” says the actor, whose latest web outing, Tabbar has been making waves.

The Supriya Pathak-starrer on Sony LIV revolves around a retired constable who pushes the boundaries to save his son from the consequences of an unfortunate incident. Does he believe in crossing the line to protect his family? “While the show doesn’t talk about drawing a line, in real life, pampering [or safeguarding] children too much will be detrimental for them. They have to be taken to task, so they are prepared for life,” says Malhotra, who — like his previous series Grahan — portrays a Sardar in this one. But the actor insists that he has never repeated his characters. “My character in Jab We Met was different from the Sardar I played in Mubarakan, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Badmaash Company, or the recent Grahan. I am a Punjabi, so it comes naturally to me, but I ensure to use a different body language [for all my characters].”

Having started his television career with Nukkad, Malhotra believes that some shows should not be remade, especially the 1986 gem. “The ideologies of people have changed with every generation. It’s sad that the children today are not aware of their history but ask them about brands, and it’s at the tip of their tongue,” says the actor, adding that youngsters nowadays wouldn’t relate to the lessons in Nukkad.

After doing several blink-and-miss roles in films including Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), and Mausam (2011), Wamiqa Gabbi, who has often dabbled in Punjabi, Malayalam, and Tamil films, gained the spotlight in Hindi entertainment with her portrayal of the character Manu in Disney+ Hotstar’s Grahan. Basking in the golden period of her career, the actor is now dabbling in two big projects simultaneously — prepping for Netflix’s Baahubali series and shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Khufiya.

“Wamiqa has no time to spare. She has started shooting for Khufiya in Delhi. [Since] she is playing the character of Sivagami in the prequel series to the Baahubali film franchise, Wamiqa is also training on her physical transformation and diction,” informed a source.

The Baahubali series, which originally featured Mrunal Thakur and Rahul Bose, has now been reworked. It is expected to go on floors in November, in Mumbai. “She is devoting her holidays to working on her agility and core strength. Wamiqa adheres to a strict workout regime, while also training in sword fighting,” says the source, adding that during filming the actor is keeping her sole focus on Khufiya. The detailed training for Sivagami will kick off once she finishes Bhardwaj’s film.

Among the most discussed web series since the stellar The Family Man 2 is 'Grahan'. Set against the backdrop of the 1984 Sikh riots, the eight-part series is being lauded for its balanced approach. For Ranjan Chandel, who has helmed and co-written the Disney+ Hotstar series, it is a product of divine intervention. He remembers working on the post-production of Bamfaad (2020) when he came across Satya Vyas’s novel Chaurasi. “I was attracted to its poetic storytelling, and the compelling love story. I considered translating it into a movie. But I got busy with other things. Then, producer Ajay Rai contacted me to adapt a book, and it turned out to be the same book. At that very moment, I knew I had to make the show,” begins the writer-director.

Creating the world of Grahan — which features Pavan Malhotra, Zoya Hussain and Wamiqa Gabbi — was not easy, especially since the narrative straddles two timelines, the ’80s and the present day. “The novel’s story is only a part of the series. We built upon it to make it relevant in the modern times. Writing was a challenge because we were dealing with sensitive subjects here, but in my heart, it remained a relationship drama. A love story from the ’80s marred by socio-political issues runs parallel to a father-daughter relationship as the daughter is handed a case from that decade. Socio-political elements were consciously kept in the periphery.”

Chandel developed draft after draft, knowing that sensitive treatment of the subject was imperative to its success. “Three months before the shoot, I started rewriting the draft because I didn’t want to leave any room for imbalance. Shooting was another challenge. We had done our recce at Bokaro, but due to the pandemic, the steel plant was shut. We initially planned to shoot in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, but eventually shot it in Lucknow after the Uttar Pradesh government allowed shoots.”

Upon the trailer’s release, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur slammed the series for portraying a Sikh character in an “objectionable manner”. A witness of the 1984 riots had also sent a legal notice to the makers. “I wasn’t worried because I knew when people watch the show, they will know our intentions are pure. A lot of those who sent us harsh texts, sent us apology messages after watching the show. Art speaks for itself. Our vision was clear — we focussed on how the riot wreaked havoc in the lives of the people; we never reflected our personal political leanings.”

If Chandel is able to take on such brave subjects, he credits mentor-collaborator Anurag Kashyap for the feat. Having co-written Mukkabaaz (2018) with Kashyap, he says, “I had no formal training in filmmaking. When I came to Mumbai in 2011, I had nothing but stories with me. For four years, I went door-to-door in Versova with my half-written ideas. When I met Kashyap, he probably saw promise in me. We started working on a script that never worked out. In 2015, we started Mukkabaaz, and that was my schooling. I learnt on the job; he honed my talent and his process brought out the filmmaker in me.”

Wamiqa Gabbi is winning praise for her Hindi debut, 'Grahan' that offers a retelling of the 1984 riots. She is set to follow it up with Anushka Sharma’s Mai. The Netflix show, led by Sakshi Tanwar, revolves around a middle-aged woman who is unwittingly swept into the underworld after she kills a mafia leader. “To be cast alongside such experienced actors is flattering,” says Gabbi.

Though she has headlined many Punjabi and South movies, she says Mai’s powerful material threw her off-guard. “It’s one of the shows where I am nervous every time I go to shoot. There’s a constant feeling that I hope I don’t mess it up.”

Bagging a Clean Slate production is a personal win for her as she has high regard for Sharma and her brother Karnesh’s choice of projects. “That the series is led by Sakshi Tanwar and produced by Anushka speaks volumes about its content,” she says, before quipping, “The fact that Anushka has named her daughter Vamika has nothing to do with my casting though.”

The Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC), the second level self-regulatory mechanism to address appeals against content aired on digital platforms, held its first meeting and passed its first order recently.

The newly formed regulatory body is a broadcaster-led self-regulatory body, whose Chairman is Justice (Retd) Vikramajit Sen (below). The members of this committee are – filmmakers Nikkhil Advani, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, content producer and distributor Deepak Dhar, and representatives from broadcast networks – Ashok Nambissan and Mihir Rale. At the meeting, Justice Sen said, “We are about to embark upon a unique journey in content self-regulation. A fine balance needs to be maintained between creativity, freedom of expression and law.”

The DMCRC has been formed under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, notified by the central government recently. At present, around ten digital platforms run by broadcast networks are member of this regulatory body. If any viewer has any concern regarding content on an OTT platform, they can directly contact the platform, which looks into the complaint. If the complainant is not satisfied with the action taken, then they can contact DMCRC. It is a second-tier mechanism at the appellate level, similar to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) for non-news general entertainment channels.

At the meeting, the council took up the first appeal it had received – against the trailer of the eight-episode web series Grahan, which released last month. The complainants had filed a grievance with the digital platform on June 18 and they received a reply within three days, following which the complainant contacted the DMCRC. The complainant alleged that from the trailer it appears that the series is showing a false narrative of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The members viewed the trailer and didn’t find anything objectionable. In its order, the DMCRC said, “The trailer is a short glimpse of the series. After viewing it, the Council did not find any instance where it has been said, shown or implied that a turbaned/Sikh man has been involved in looting and arson, or that a false and sinister narrative of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is being set. The Council noted that the trailer categorically states that the upcoming series is a work of fiction and it has been inspired by the Hindi novel Chaurasi written by Satya Vyas. There has been no evident critique of the book. The Council is of the unanimous opinion that it is unreasonable to judge such a long series, whose total length runs into a few hours over eight episodes, on the basis of a trailer that runs for 2 minutes and 24 seconds. A trailer is specifically meant to generate curiosity, and in the present instance, it does that – create a sense of intrigue and mystery about the story that would unfold.”

It further stated, “The Council is of the unanimous view that any artistic or creative work has to be viewed holistically to determine whether it is objectionable or offensive.” They found that the trailer is “within the framework of the law and therefore, the appeal is not maintainable”.