Here's why Jubilee actress Wamiqa Gabbi would stand naked and talk to herself in front of the mirror

Wamiqa Gabbi

From making her mark by delivering a strong performance in the web series Grahan to receiving a lot of love from the audience for her latest release, Jubilee, Wamiqa Gabbi is making her space as an actress.

While there is constant pressure on female actors to look a certain way and have a certain body type that is considered 'desirable' on screen, Wamiqa has managed to break stereotypes.

In Jubilee, she plays a courtesan named Niloufer from Lucknow, who dreams of becoming an actress in the Hindi film industry during the 1940s.

In a special conversation with OTTplay, Wamiqa opened up on how she manages to maintain the essence of who she is while immersing herself in all the characters she plays onscreen.

Asked what went into getting the body language of Niloufer just right, Wamiqa said, "Even though no one specifically suggested that I do it, I used to stand naked in front of the mirror in my room and look at myself. I used to have a talk with myself about body positivity because I had some body image issues. Since I am Punjabi, I have a wide body structure. When I was preparing to be Niloufer Qureshi, I would look at my arms and my voluptuous waistline and think that since Niloufer is someone who enjoys having her arms held, she stands confidently with her hands on her waist. Also, she mesmerises everyone by speaking through her eyes. I used to motivate myself to feel confident about my body and embrace it the way it is. I used to say, 'Wamiqa, you are beautiful and confident, just like Niloufer'. Eventually, the process not only worked for me to play my character but also made me the confident woman that I am today."

The actress also shared that, as a professional, she is ready to go through body transformation if a character requires it, but in real life, she does not want to be dictated by social pressure and set norms for a certain body type.

"As an actress, my job is to make the audience fall in love with the character I play onscreen. When you fall in love with a character, you do not really think too much about a few extra inches here and there. When I played Manu in Grahan, no one rejected her because of the way her body looked. They connected with the character. Therefore, for me, body transformation or losing weight only becomes part of the process if the character demands it. I will not start dieting to get my abs to look a certain way. In real life, I am Wamiqa, not the character you watch onscreen," shared the actress who will next be seen in Vishal Bharadwaj's Khufiya.

It is interesting to note that the actress has gone through a body transformation for the upcoming film.

"That is exactly what I am trying to say: that I am willing to go through a mind and body transformation based on a character I play and its demands. Every director has a vision for the characters they create, and I am ready to mould myself accordingly. But at the same time, I want the filmmakers and audiences to fall in love with my craft as an actress," Wamiqa signed off.

Created by Vikramaditya Motwane, Jubilee also stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sidhant Gupta, Ram Kapoor, and Shweta Basu Prasad, among others. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

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