Nidhi Bisht basks in the glory of her first major role in Netflix’s Maamla Legal Hai
Sheetal
The web series Maamla Legal Hai makes it to Netflix’s top 10 most-watched series of the week. And if Ravi Kishan is praised for decoding the role of VD Tyagi, there’s another actor who makes her presence felt with dialogues that resonate with people from all walks of life. We are talking of Nidhi Bisht who plays the role of Sujata Negi. The actress delivers best puns and has impeccable comic timing. And her character’s introduction ‘Didi daleel deti nahi, didi khud hi daleel hain’ stands true for her real self as well.
Nidhi’s journey in the industry started more than a decade ago but she feels it’s just the beginning and she has a long way to go. Served as a writer and director for Girliyapa where she also acted in a few scenes, she says writing was a mode to survive when she wasn’t getting many acting projects, but it sure helped her become a better performer on stage as well as on screen.
She recalls, “It feels great when director and writers gave me the liberty to improvise on the sets. It gave me confidence. We know our lines when we go on the sets, but there’s always the scope to make a scene better. And it comes from the collective efforts of co-actors, writers, directors and art directors.”
This Jamia Millia Islamia law graduate worked in a legal firm for a year before making a career U-turn by shifting to Mumbai and choosing acting. She explains, “This role of a struggling lawyer in Maamla Legal Hai marks the full circle for me. I have been a theatre enthusiast all my, but it took me one year of law practice to realise what I really wanted to do. When I told my parents about my dreams, my father said, ‘Beta our kuch na sahi, par ek baar kisi project me kale coat wala (lawyer) role jaroor kar lena’. And I feel proud to play a lawyer. In a way it has also marked my official entry into the digital medium because it’s one of the prominent roles in a big series, on a big platform.”
Working as a corporate lawyer for a brief period, however, didn’t help Nidhi much when she tried to crack the role of Sujata. “I for one was part of the corporate circle, which had English speaking lawyers, the crème de la crème of law and justice. It took me several visits to Delhi district courts and Bombay High Court to study women lawyers and their behavior, especially those, who don’t have their own chamber. I am sure more people can relate to my character because it encapsulates many Sujatas in the bheed of lawyers in the Indian judiciary system.”
Nidhi has written for shows like Permanent Roommates and Home Shanti. She also served as creative director for TVF and creative director for Girliyapa taking it newer heights. But does this behind-the-scenes experience help her to be a better actor? She responds, “Having worked as a director or storyteller, you have a fair idea of what the writer or director wants from you. In other words, one knows how to transform that writing onto the screen. But to say, it is always an advantage would be wrong. Also, I believe I am still in the initial stage of my acting.”
Getting it right
“Maamla Legal Hai feels authentic and organic because the director Rahul Pandey had done his homework in keeping the balance between the three pillars of filmmaking — writing, direction and acting just like three pillars of Indian Constitution of which the judiciary is a part. We had done workshops with our co-actors which acted as a great ice-breaker. He made sure that we behaved like we had spent 15-30 years in the court and with each other.”
