TVF’s Nidhi Bisht is breaking stereotypes and making it viral
The entertainment industry is full of stereotypes and preconceived notions of how an actor should look. Take the ones Nidhi Bisht had to face, for instance. “I got a lot of rejections. People told me I have a round face, fit for roles of older women like chachi and mausi,” recalls Bisht. She also faced comments like “You have strange eyes”, “You don’t look like a typical bubbly girl” or “Tum tayyar hoke nahi aati” (You don’t put effort into looking good with the help of makeup).
But she says that she never let such comments dent her zest for making it big in the entertainment industry. Nor did she conform to such norms. It was on her own terms that this young girl from Delhi went on to create a huge niche in the entertainment industry. While she was an active part of the Delhi and Mumbai theatre circuit, the big break was when she got introduced to the founding team of the digital content company The Viral Fever, headed by Arunabh Kumar. From essaying television czarina Ekta Kapoor to BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi to even Doordarshan anchor Snehlata Thapaa, Bisht has played a diverse set of characters in her YouTube videos. After joining TVF as its creative director in 2012, Bisht also honed her skills in script writing with the Girliyapa videos, Chai Sutta Chronicles and Bisht Please and direction with PA Gals.
And while acting was her first love, Bisht also holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the prestigious Jamia Milia Islamia college in Delhi and has worked as an associate at a law firm in Delhi. “My dad was an IPS officer and my mom was a teacher, so he wanted us to be great in studies,” she says, explaining the reason behind opting for a law degree. And as dramatic as it sounds, it was the Bollywood film, Rock On, that inspired her to follow her dreams of becoming an actor. The initial days of auditions and rejections were tough, and Bisht also had to take up jobs including writing for Comedy Circus, freelancing as a Hindi translator and teaching drama at schools to earn a living in the city. “You can learn, read or write. Don’t wait for the ideal opportunity, take whatever comes your way. Embrace every opportunity. A senior theatre actor told me ‘work is work’. And the bigger challenge is – where ever you are, you have to make it count,” she says.
It has now been a decade since she moved to Mumbai in 2009, and Bisht has not only created a name for herself but is also an inspiration to many girls who wish to enter the entertainment industry as writers, actors or directors.
