Juhi Babbar Instagram – 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐉𝐮𝐮𝐡𝐢 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐢: I have known this girl since she was in her 20s, helping her mother Nadira Zaheer Babbar in theatre and her Ekjute workshops. A well behaved child, who was taught by her mother to be respectful towards elders, @juuhithesoniibabbar stood out. With her warmth. With her tehzeeb (etiquettes). With her talent. If you didn’t know her background, you would never guess she was the daughter of actor Raj Babbar and the legendary Nadira Zaheer Babbar, whose theatre group Ekjute has been doing commendable work in Hindi theatre.
I used to write extensively on theatre in the 90s, when I was with Jansatta (the Hindi newspaper of Indian Express) and then with Indian Express itself. I wrote about them too.
Juhi has remained the same over all these years. And that is a rarity. That is true sanskaar (संस्कार). I give tremendous credit for this to Nadiraji.
So when Juhi wrote, directed and acted in the play 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐀𝐚𝐩 𝐤𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐚, @aapkisaiyaara we had to go for it. Our friend @ashmi.ap had bought tickets in bulk. @prafulljsharma was able to go but owing to my vertigo and back problems, I couldn’t. Juhi called me and said so lovingly, “Vidyottamaji aap kyon nahin aayeen, Prafullji ke saath”. She knows I love theatre and in that about ten minutes of talk, Juhi remained as respectful as she has always been. She performed in Borivali and again, I couldn’t make it due to vertigo.
So this time round when @shalineserpes and @archana_sand invited me to this play at NCPA, there was no way I was saying no.
And how proud I was to see Juhi perform to nearly a monologue for about one-and-a-half-hours. A gamut of emotions, high and low pitched tonal deliveries, engaging the audience in the story of a pampered girl who has the ability to take life’s hard blows in her stride and move on. The lighting, the sound, the creative additions through internet were all beautifully done.
And when I met her Juhi was the same, “Vidyottama ji, aap itni door se aayi hain”. The same warmth. The same love. The same manners. चहकती रहो जुही।
#theatre #juuhibabbarsonii #hindi #rangmanch #tehzeeb #warmth #etiquette | Posted on 14/Mar/2025 11:39:20
