When Poonam Dhillon was in her 20s and already a well-known film actor, she received the news of her father’s demise. On the way home, in a flight, as she battled a haze of tears and grief, she was surrounded by fans who wanted a picture, an autograph, a smile. This moment, and many others in the years to come, taught her how to deal with life’s cruel ironies with grace. As a Bigg Boss contestant many years later, she did not lose her poise even for a moment even though watching her in that vitiated, undignified space was tough for those who had seen her light up the breezy entertainers of the 80s.
Dhillon was once the eternal sunshine of films like Noorie, Poonam, Yeh Vaada Raha, Basera,Teri Kasam, Romance, Samundar, Dard, Sitamgar, Savere Wali Gaadi and Nishaan. She was the spunky gypsy girl of Ek Chaadar Maili Si, the clueless wife of a psychopath in Red Rose and to a certain generation, she represents a simpler time when beauty meant a scrubbed, guileless face radiating innocence.
She agrees that times have changed. She is now the main attraction of a daily soap called Ek Nayi Pehchaan and talks to us between a noisy shoot. “I will have to put you on hold for a moment..they want a shot of my right hand!” she laughs. And no, she informs you, TV is not a new territory for her. She says, “In the early nineties, I did Andaz which was a weekly soap and much awaited and applauded because it was a multi-starrer and very popular. My son was very small at that time and I did not want to do outdoor shoots. So even though everyone asked just why I was doing TV, I did it even though no other film star was doing it. Today of course everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and they know the reach of the medium, its power and the huge financial implications.”
And does she agree with the sensibilities of the story? She says, “It is one of the more sensible stories and has a positive message even though you do sometimes question why the character reacts in the way she does.”
Her journey began in the late seventies when her mentor Yash Chopra first saw her pictures for the first time and offered her a film. “I was still in school and refused the offer because in my family, everyone was an academic achiever and I wanted to finish college,” she recalls.
She finally relented and made a small appearance in Trishul where being carried by Amitabh Bachchan in one of the scenes was more thrilling than the idea of a full-fledged film career! She recalls, “I did the film and thought that this was it. I could now go back to life. But Yash ji then offered me Noorie and told me that it was the role of a life-time that any actress would die for. I accepted but still thought, I would go back to my life as a student after the film released. But then I believe, if you are meant to be in a certain place at a certain time to do certain things, destiny won’t let you run and hide.”
She did over 100 films with the leading lights of her times and says, “Not too many films were being written for women at that time because it was the era of the Angry Young Man. We did what we could and I had a good innings though there never was the desperation to prove anything or to compete. I am still friends with my colleagues from that time like Padmini Kolhapure and Jackie Shroff. We meet and talk about our lives, our children. I always wondered why it is said that two actresses cannot be friends. No one ever says that about school teachers, do they? It is a job like any other where people can co-exist in their own space.”
Though she was one of the few stars, apart from Shammi Kapoor, who saw the potential of the Internet era even before social networking exploded and had her own website and a talent hunt site called Star Ya Kalakaar, she cannot, beyond a point, relate to the exhibitionism of putting every little personal detail out there.
“We never flaunted relationships, children, achievements. Life was not lived as a public spectacle. It is not as if my children are hidden in a dungeon today but if my son does not want to be photographed when he steps out with me, I respect his decision,” says she.
In all the years that she has spent in limelight, she has worked for assorted social causes, pioneered a vanity van business, done theatre and is now helming IIAA, an initiative to award global Indians in the arenas of academics, literature, business and finance, science and IT, medicine, entertainment.
Her company Poetic Justice Events and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, hosted the first award ceremony recently in Mumbai.
Poonam says, “We have so many iconic Indians like Lakshmi Mittal, Indra Nooyi, Sabeer Bhatia, Swaraj Paul, Amartya Sen and counting and I would like to acknowledge their contributions.”
Any regrets? “I lost my parents in my twenties… they did not get any time to spend with my children. My daughter was just six months old when my mother passed away. I miss them both terribly and it has been an irreparable loss. Otherwise life has been a blessing,” she says.
Her spiritual discipline has also done its bit to tide her over the pain and the challenges. She says, “I have had a Karmic connection with spiritual guides and places. Somehow, even without my seeking them out, I get opportunities to meet extraordinary teachers and visit holy places like the Nankana Saheb in Pakistan. “
She adds, “From the age of 17, I have begun and ended my day with prayers and I can’t sleep if I miss out on this ritual. Every soul has a journey and mine is just beginning.”
with
Reema Moudgil works for The New Indian Express, Bangalore, is the author of Perfect Eight, the editor of Chicken Soup for the Soul-Indian Women, an artist, a former RJ and a mother. She dreams of a cottage of her own that opens to a garden and where she can write more books, paint, listen to music and just be silent with her cats.