The big-eyed Wamiqa Gabbimakes a splash with Bhale Manchi Roju . She explains about her unusual name, “Wamiqa means the goddess of wind; my dad is a poet and writer in Punjabi and Gabbi is his pseudonym. Some people here are calling me Waqima and I am like.. ‘how could you do that?’
Wamiqa is from Chandigarh and she moved to Mumbai a few years back. She has done three Punjabi films, one Hindi and one Tamil film. The Tamil film Maalai Malaai Nerathu Mayakkam that just released boasts of Selvaraghavan's script and is directed by his wife Geetanjali. Producer Kola Bhaskar is launching his son Balakrishna and the film will be releasing in Telugu (as Nannu Vadili Neevu Polevule) .
Wamiqa is a happy, child-like person and frank. She admits that she had a misconception of South film industry and didn't want to come here. “If you don't know something completely, you tend to have a misconception. My sense of cinema improved slowly as I started watching South cinema, got to know that cinema is much appreciated here. We are Punjabis and thought South industry is not good but when I came to Chennai and Hyderabad I couldn't help but fall in love with the two scripts. Actually I thought Tamil was enough but here my films in both the languages are releasing and I am very glad that I am part of both the movies,” she quips.
Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam is Geetanjali Selvaraghavan's debut project and Wamiqa says she is blessed with immense clarity and vision. Her husband was like her support system.
About her role in it, Wamiqa avers, “It is a perfect relationship drama in Tamil and I had a completely deglamourised look.”
She adds, “In Bhale Manchi Roju I had to wear a sari and dance, with make up and styling as a bride. In Tamil, I would be in a dark make up. I needed to look dull. I was playing Manoja, a very modern girl, sorted and mature.Prabhu (played by Balakrishna) and Manoja are completely different, but they get married. What happens before and after that forms the crux of the story.."
The artiste had done a Hindi film titled 16 which was a teenage drama. Wamiqa will probably stick to South movies. Isn’t she on the heavier side by Telugu film standards? She laughs, “Maybe for this film, but not for the next one. It won’t be a big difference but I will make people notice the change. ”
