We no longer get heroines as cute as Poonam Dhillon. “Don’t write this, they will feel bad,” advises Poonam. At 16 she made young hearts go aquiver with “Gapuji Gapuji Gam Gam” in Yash Chopra’s Trishul. Her first shot was with Amitabh Bachchan. Now three decades later she is back to share the stage with him as one of the housemates in Bigg Boss. “He is one of the reasons for my participation. It is always an absorbing experience to chat with him and here I am looking forward to many such opportunities,” she gushes.
Offbeat choices
Her cool and calm image doesn’t make her look like a Bigg Boss material where either controversial figures thrive or those who want to make a name in the glamour world use the show as a staircase for transient success. “See I am known to take offbeat decisions. I started my career when girls of my age were going to school. Some 15 years back when no film actor wanted to be seen on television, I said why not. I did theatre when it was not considered prudent for film actors to be seen on stage.” Her play “Perfect Husband” has done exceedingly well and now she expects similar success for “Perfect Wife.”
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“Similarly”, she continues, “I launched my website when many in my fraternity had not even heard of the concept. Then I tried my hand at make-up business which has made life simpler for actors.”
Poonam feels her presence could be a calming factor in the Bigg Boss household, rich in outspoken personalities like Sheryln Chopra and Ismail Durbar. There is not much controversy about her in the public domain. “I haven’t watched the last two seasons but what I have gathered from the CDs that I have watched as part of preparation, I don’t think that is necessary. You don’t need to reveal your personal life but let’s see what skeletons tumble out!”
She considers herself a person who can easily get along with others. “I am a social person but when you say this you forget that in society you choose the persons you want to interact with. Here you don’t have such a choice. I want to test myself in such a situation. I want to figure out my own self.”
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Not averse to doing household chores, Poonam says, “I feel I am good at getting things done. Now my maids will watch how I will perform the tasks in the house. They will say, now, let’s see how she does the job!”
Recently seen in Dil Bole Hadippa, Poonam picks “Noorie” and “Sohini Mahiwal” as films where she performed well but looking back at a career spanning around three decades, Poonam points out, “I wish I had come prepared. As you know I won Femina Young Miss India contest. Yashji spotted me and I got into the industry. I learnt on the job and it took some time. These days young actors come well-prepared in different aspects of filmmaking, things like camera angles and lighting.”