Vibha Chibber: We moved to Noida as it is a planned city

Abhimanyu Ray, the casting director of 'Chak De! India', sought help from Vibha Chibber, a theatre artiste and alumna of the National School of Drama, to pick the ensemble cast. But Ray couldn’t find anyone better than Vibha for the role of assistant coach Krishnaji. Since then, Vibha has featured in many films. But, with meaty roles in serials like 'Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai' and the ongoing 'Piya Rangrezz', television was the platform that brought her fame and money.Working as a teacher in Theatre in Education, a wing of the NSD, Vibha was in her comfort zone, but her son Puru’s insistence to go to Mumbai to join the film and TV industry resulted in her also stepping into the same arena. A Delhi resident, who moved to Gurgaon after marriage and then to Noida, spoke to us about Noida’s community culture, giving diction lessons to the likes of Freida Pinto and Nargis Fakhri and finding success in TV despite making her film debut with a Shah Rukh Khan-starrer.
Noida has people from different communities staying together
In 1992, Vibha along with her family relocated to their new house in Noida from their Gurgaon residence. “We were looking for a house and zeroed in on Noida because it was a planned city.”
There were hardly any power cuts at that time. Also, the schools that were coming up in Noida back then promised quality education. My workplace, Mandi House, was just a half-an-hour drive from Noida,” she says.
Vibha explains how different Noida and Gurgaon are. She says, “When I first came here, I noticed that there were more people of different communities staying together in Noida as opposed to Gurgaon, where mostly north Indians lived. So, my daughter could dance during Durga Puja celebrations and we could participate in the South Indian festivals with equal gusto.”
Cultural shows at Mandi House and film screenings at Pragati Maidan
Vibha would look forward to every opportunity to catch a cultural programme. “I went to different states as a college student to perform. That gave me a world of experience. Later, as NSD students, we’d get free passes for many shows, including the ones with foreign artistes, taking place in Mandi House. Then there is Shakuntalam Theatre in Pragati Maidan that would screen the best of Indian and world movies at an economical price. So, these were the things that helped me grow, apart from DU’s theatre society culture and NSD’s training,” she says.
Shopping in Atta and strolls at India Gate
It’s not that Vibha spent all her time honing her acting skills. She would hang out a lot with her friends as well. “Mujhe khuli jagah zyada pasand hai. So, I would go to India Gate or Old Fort and do boating. I don’t like shopping in malls. Also, Bengali Market happens to be a favourite adda of NSD students. Even today, I often head to Bengali Market straight from the airport to have my favourite chhole bhature,” she says.
Another favourite shopping destination for Vibha was Atta Market. “Noida is a planned city, and is very neat and clean. My family would often go to Atta market for shopping and would have street food at Sector 18,” she says.She adds, “I had also conducted theatre workshop for kids in Noida. Whenever I am in the NCR, my time is divided equally between Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon.”
READ: Vibha Chibber in Shashi-Sumeet's next for SAB TV
Giving diction lessons to Freida, Giselle, Nargis and Diana
In Mumbai too, Vibha started doing what she does best – teaching theatre. The likes of Freida Pinto, Giselle Monteiro, Nargis Fakhri and Diana Penty have been her students. “The news of an alumna of NSD taking classes in Mumbai spread quickly and Imtiaz Ali asked me to teach Hindi to Giselle. We had to start from ka, kha, ga. Since they had not grown up in India, these actresses knew next to nothing in Hindi. But they have improved so much. I met Nargis a few days back and she no longer had a foreign accent while speaking in Hindi,” she tells us.
TV and film debut because of son
On being asked if it was late for someone who graduated from NSD in 1985, to get into films and TV two decades later, she says, “Theatre is my first love. I was earning decently in Delhi and had all my friends and relatives here. Thus, I never thought of leaving the city. My son Puru, after completing his 12th, wanted to go to Mumbai to learn acting and join the industry. So, my husband and I decided to go along as we didn’t want Puru to be alone in the big city. It’s because of him that I joined the industry,” she says, “I’ve been into acting all my life. It’s only after you become a recognizable face that people start asking where you were all these years.”
TV gave me everything I wanted, but who doesn’t want to win a Filmfare award?
Despite making her film debut with a movie like Chak De! India, Vibha never played a character that would overshadow Krishnaji. She says, “It hurts at times. But I had joined TV soon after Chak De! and people thought, ‘how will she manage if she is doing TV?’ I am an artiste. I need to act irrespective of the medium. Obviously, films are bigger than TV, and TV is bigger than theatre, and everybody wants to win a Filmfare Award, but the way my characters in various serials have been appreciated, I am satisfied.”
Unlike many TV actors, Vibha says she has no problems with the hectic schedule. She says, “I have grown up doing day-long rehearsals and later teaching kids. I have a humongous amount of patience. Also, now, I’ve reached a stature where if I ask for leave, my wishes are duly granted. But if the same amount of money is paid to me in theatre, I will go back to it. It’s the one medium I am most comfortable in.”
Interestingly, it's not only TV actors who are moving outside Mumbai. Read the article 'As TV producers plan to set up base in Delhi, NCR the region jostles for shoot-friendly tag' HERE
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