Nidhi Bisht: Web gives more freedom. Women are writing, directing women here
In an interview to IndiaToday.in, Nidhi Bisht talked about her show Cubicles, how web has given opportunities to content creators and her future projects.
After playing the role of Roma Gupta, who falls for Pooja's voice in Ayushmann Khurrana's Dream Girl, Nidhi Bisht will soon be seen in the web series Cubicles, which explores the brighter side of our office cubicles.
Nidhi Bisht is seen playing the role of Megha Asthana in Cubicles, the new show which introduces Abhishek Chauhan as Piyush. Talking about her character in the show, Nidhi told IndiaToday.in in an exclusive interview, "Megha Asthana is the protagonist and Piyush's team leader. She is one of those rare good mentors that you hardly find. After playing many negative characters in different shows, I am playing a positive role with no shades of grey in Cubicles."
Talking about the show, the actress said, "It is essentially talking about the people who work in these cubicles. I think mainstream media mein jab bhi humne ye characters dekhein hai ya iss world ke baare main baat ki hai, toh this always looks like a really mundane or boring thing to do. Especially, we, people who left our jobs to follow fashion, always show that that was a boring job and what we are doing right now is more interesting. So, Cubicles is the story of Piyush and how he is passionate about his 9-to-5 job. How things turn out to be for him, how he reacts when he gets his first salary. Cubicles shows many positive aspects of the corporate life."
Watch TVF Cubicles' trailer here:
Apart from acting, Nidhi Bisht is a director and writer with The Viral Fever. She has worked as a writer for many TVF shows and has directed Pa-Gals, a show about three women sharing a flat. The second season of the show is going to kick off soon. When asked what is her favourite thing among acting, writing and direction, she said, "When I quit my job and came to Mumbai, I really wanted to be an actor. So acting is my first love and I love acting the most. But then, I also like writing and direction."
After working in the industry for so long, with an experience in films as well, the actor-writer-director says that acting in a web series is different from that in a film. She said, "It is different because of the duration. In a web series, you get to do more episodes, play different kinds of roles and your character has more arcs."
However, she also thinks that films are also providing a lot of scope to actors for better roles these days. She added, "While web series give you better opportunities, films are also providing you with good roles these days. And being an actor, I love acting. Hum toh actors hain - kahin pe bhi acting kara lo, maza aayega."
Nidhi Bisht credits all her success to the world of internet and feels that the digital medium is a great stepping stone for aspiring actors who want to make it big in the industry. She said, "All the new-age stars who are now doing films started out with web shows. The world of internet is so huge. There is so much work happening. There are awards being organised for web shows and films. I think a lot of credit should be given to the World Wide Web for providing a platform for aspiring actors. Kyunki humare time pe toh pata hi nahi chalta tha kahaan pe auditions ho rahe hai. Through the body of work on the web, people are getting to see the work of young actors and they are getting roles in films on the basis of that."
Apart from providing platform to actors, the web world has also given opportunities to writers and directors to tell their stories. Now, more women writers and directors are coming out who are narrating stories from their perspective. Nidhi Bisht feels that this has given a lot of freedom to women to tell their stories. She said, "You can say that there's more freedom on web. I worked for Girliyapa and I have seen that we used to get very excited when we saw a new perspective to women-oriented stories. It is not just about women, it is also coming from the woman's point of view because women are creating it. Perspective-wise, it is extremely fresh. If women are writing for women and the directors are also women, then we can feel the inclusion. Even in theatre or in films and shows, if there are female directors, you can feel the inclusion. So the question is who is leading the ship - it also makes the difference."
So after tasting success on the big screen, with Phillauri and the latest Dream Girl, will she be giving priority to films over web shows? She said, "TVF is my homeground. It is like my mother. I will always come back to it and be associated with it. But if I get good film offers, I will definitely do them. I would not like to make a choice on the basis of the medium, whether it is a web series or a film. I would like to decide on the basis of the project, the story and the team."
Apart from doing web shows, Nidhi will next be seen in Balaji's KTina starring Disha Patani. This will be her second film with Dream Girl director Raaj Shaandilyaa, who has also written the film.
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