Maanvi Gagroo On Feminism In Showbiz: ‘It Has Become A Business, But It Needs To Be Backed By Substance’

Maanvi Gagroo has never followed the conventional route to stardom. From appearing in Disney Channel India’s Dhoom Machaao Dhoom to taking on more layered characters across films and streaming shows, the actor has gradually built a career around experimentation rather than fitting neatly into one mould.

A Delhi native who later made Mumbai her professional home, Maanvi was studying psychology at Gargi College in Delhi when acting entered her life almost unexpectedly. She had not originally planned to pursue a career in front of the camera, but a series of opportunities eventually changed that path.

Over the years, she has also experienced one of the industry’s familiar challenges: being defined by a particular personality type.

Maanvi Gagroo On Being Typecast As The ‘Bubbly’ Girl

With her cheerful screen presence and energetic personality, Maanvi found herself repeatedly being offered similar roles early in her career.

While such characters helped establish her presence, repeating the same formula eventually became frustrating for the actor.

“I was getting a lot of bubbly parts, and it was just getting very mundane for me to keep doing the same thing,” Maanvi said.

Her desire to break away from that image eventually led her towards roles that gave her greater room to explore different shades of a character.

How Pitchers Changed Maanvi Gagroo’s Career

A significant turning point came with TVF’s Pitchers. The web series arrived at a time when India’s digital entertainment space was beginning to find its identity and audiences were increasingly open to stories that felt more contemporary and relatable.

For Maanvi, the project became an important step towards moving beyond the type of roles she had previously been associated with.

Her subsequent work included characters such as Siddhi Patel in Amazon Prime Video’s Four More Shots Please!, Shalmalee in ZEE5’s 377 AbNormal and Chanchal in TVF Tripling.

These projects allowed her to demonstrate a wider acting range and establish herself as a performer capable of moving between different genres and character types.

From Disney To The Streaming Revolution

Maanvi’s career also mirrors the dramatic transformation of Indian entertainment over the past two decades.

She began with Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, a Disney Channel India series, before moving through films and television and eventually becoming closely associated with the country’s growing web-content ecosystem.

Her journey demonstrates how the rise of streaming platforms created opportunities for performers who did not necessarily fit the traditional definition of a Bollywood leading lady.

Instead of relying solely on conventional glamour or stereotypical characterisation, digital storytelling increasingly created space for flawed, relatable and unconventional protagonists.

Maanvi Gagroo On What Feminism Needs In Showbiz

The actor has also spoken about the changing conversation around feminism within the entertainment industry.

While greater visibility for women’s issues is undoubtedly significant, Maanvi believes that simply using feminist language is not enough. For her, the conversation needs to be supported by meaningful action and substance.

The concern is particularly relevant in an industry where social causes and progressive messaging can sometimes become part of branding.

Her perspective reflects a broader question about the representation of women on screen and behind the camera: Is feminism genuinely influencing the way stories are created, or has the terminology itself become another part of the entertainment business?

For Maanvi, meaningful representation requires more than slogans. The ideas being promoted need to translate into the characters being written, the opportunities being offered and the decisions being made within the industry.

Maanvi Gagroo’s ‘Never Say Never’ Approach

Perhaps one of the defining characteristics of Maanvi’s career has been her willingness to remain open to unexpected opportunities.

She never set out with a rigid plan to become an actor, yet the profession gradually became a major part of her life. Her career subsequently moved across different formats, from children’s television and films to some of India’s early digital hits and popular streaming shows.

That willingness to experiment has helped her avoid being permanently confined to the bubbly image that once dominated the roles coming her way.

Maanvi Gagroo’s journey is therefore less about a sudden breakthrough and more about reinvention—finding new opportunities, taking on different characters and refusing to let one successful image define the entirety of her career.