It’s the best time to be doing theatre: Juhi Babbar Soni

Written By: Harsh Kashiv

Juhi Babbar Soni, who was in Ahmedabad recently for her play With Love, Aap Ki Saiyaara, has a close-knit circle of friends and family in the city. She says, “Ahmedabad is my favourite city in the country. A city is made by its people, and I have some of my most azeez log here.”

‘Main hamesha manch ko pranam karti hoon’

Talking about the play, Juhi says, “It is about how modern Indian society looks at a modern Indian woman. You call yourself modern, but how modern are your views towards her? It’s not saying anything wrong about men — it’s questioning the mentality. By God’s grace, this play has broken all records of Hindi theatre. This was our 127th show in four-and-a-half years. In a country like India, Hindi theatre achieving such numbers and covering more than 46 cities is a huge thing. It’s the best time to be doing theatre.”

Elaborating on her pre-show ritual, she says, “Ek baar manch ko, dharti ko, hamesha pranam karti hoon main jaane se pehle. Farsh kitna bhi ganda ho — main apne right hand se zameen ko pura haath lagati hoon. And then I rub the dust all over my face, my hair because I feel one with the stage. At that moment, I also think of my parents (Raj Babbar and Nadira Babbar)—they are my gurus, my inspiration.”

‘Don’t have time for work that doesn’t make me happy’

With an impressive body of work in theatre, Juhi, who writes and directs plays, says, “I don’t have time to indulge in work that doesn’t make me happy or doesn’t make me feel that I’ve grown— as a person, performer, and creative individual. If I don’t feel that, I don’t want to invest my time.”

She adds, “I’m writing and directing my plays. The kind of roles I want to do, the kind of dialogues I want to speak, the kind of values and morals I want to share — those characters are created by me, so they will always be something I resonate with.”

‘Had told Mohit Suri Saiyaara would be a hit’

When Mohit Suri’s film Saiyaara was in the works and the film’s title drew comparisons with her play, Juhi had a conversation with the director. “With Love, Aap Ki Saiyaara came much before his film. I know him because Mohit’s sister and I were in the same school, same class. I messaged him, ‘Mohit, pakka teri picture hit hogi, because this is a blessed name.’ Kaash maine uss din usse kuch likhwa liya hota — do-teen crore!” she laughs.

‘My next play is a huge musical production’

Talking about her most ambitious project yet, she reveals, “It is my third play, KrishnPriya — Jiski Radha, Uski Meera, an imaginary meeting between Radha and Meera. It’s a huge musical production. For the music, we have Sukhwinder, Anup Jalota, Amit Trivedi, Salim-Sulaiman, Kavita Seth, and Achint Marwah, and lyrics by Kausar Munir, Sameer ji, and others.”

‘Won’t do a project that doesn’t make me happy’

Talking about her acting choices in films and OTT, she says, “Main screen work ko haan se zyada na bolti hoon. I loved my role in the film The Great Shamsuddin Family (2025). Faraaz (2023), directed by Hansal Mehta sir, was also dear to me. While I am in talks for a few projects, I won’t take up anything till it makes me happy.”
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