Wamiqa Gabbi

Wamiqa Gabbi, honestly, is kind of everywhere in the Indian film scene—she’s jumped across languages like it’s no big deal: Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, you name it. Born into a Punjabi fam (her dad’s actually a legit novelist), she grew up in Chandigarh, did the usual school and college grind at St. Xavier’s and D.A.V. College. Her first flick? Jab We Met. Yeah, that one—she played Geet’s cousin, blink-and-miss but hey, you gotta start somewhere. Fast forward a bit and she’s popping up in Punjabi films—Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22, starring alongside Honey Singh (yes, that Honey Singh) and Amrinder Gill. Pulled a nomination at the PTC Punjabi Film Awards for that, which is actually pretty cool. She kept rolling with Punjabi movies: Ishq Brandy, Nikka Zaildar 2 & 3, Parahuna, Dil Diyan Gallan—basically, she’s a staple now. Her first big lead came with Sixteen, then she hopped into Telugu with Bhale Manchi Roju. After that, she started making serious moves in South Indian cinema—Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (Tamil), Godha (Malayalam, and she snagged a best debut award for that). Oh, and Iravaakaalam—another Tamil gig—plus she starred with Prithviraj in 9. She’s dabbled in Bollywood too—tiny part in ‘83, and then back in Punjabi with Kali Jotta, and popped up in a Vishal Bhardwaj short, Fursat. Web series? Loads: Grahan, Mai, Modern Love Mumbai. Plus, she’s been in music videos with titles like Ishq Haazir Hai, Angreji wali Madam, and more. She’s everywhere, honestly.