Wamiqa Gabbi made her debut in 2007 with a minor role as Kareena Kapoor’s on-screen cousin in the rom-com Jab We Met. Now, almost two decades later, the actress is working on building a name for herself. After several supporting appearances, she rose to the ranks and earned her big commercial break alongside Varun Dhawan in Baby John. However, the film failed to match the expectations the audience had set and faltered at the box office.
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But redemption came soon for the actress, whose recent release Bhool Chuk Maaf—despite scrutiny over the plot—came out as a commercial success. The 31-year-old recently opened up about the challenges of navigating the uncertain world of cinema, from her recent flop to her breakthrough.
“I feel every film has its own journey. You never know how would any film work, and if it will resonate with the audience,” Gabbi said in an interview with Hindustan Times. Using her 2015 film Tamasha as an example, she pointed out how some films get due credit years later. “A film like Bhool Chuk Maaf working gives you a lot of faith and the confidence to say yes to more original storytelling and put faith in directors like Karan Sharma who are making their first films.”
Reflecting on the box office failure of Baby John, the actress said she did not come out of the experience empty-handed. “More than any hopes, for me it was about the opportunity to work with Varun, Atlee sir and Murad Khetani and be a part of their world. That in itself was a very big thing for me. I can obviously choose to look at all the negatives like what happened with the film and what didn’t. But if the film only wouldn’t have happened, what would have I done and where would I have been?” she asks.
ALSO READ | Actor Wamiqa Gabbi reflects on her cinematic journey
She also credited her Baby John producer Atlee Kumar for putting faith in a newcomer. “The fact that I was working with Atlee sir helped to bring in that change. For him and Murad sir to have that faith, and even for Varun to be okay with having me on board, that takes guts because they are at that powerful position where they can say no.”
Gabbi has a packed slate ahead, including the Tamil film Genie, starring Ravi Mohan, Krithi Shetty, and Kalyani Priyadarshan, and the Malayalam film Tiki Taka starring Asif Ali, eyeing a Christmas 2025 release.
