Last Updated:
Shehnaaz Gill says her beauty, talent and stardom is leading her to get more offers from Punjabi cinema, and adds that she doesn’t want to do glamorous dance numbers in Bollywood.
Shehnaaz Gill previously announced multi-starrer 100% co-starring John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh and Nora Fatehi has been shelved.
Four years after Bigg Boss 13, Salman Khan launched Shehnaaz Gill in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The same year, she featured in another Hindi film, Thank You For Coming. She went on to appear in a dance number in Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video but her multistarrer with John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh and Nora Fatehi got shelved. Eventually, she went back to Pollywood.
Now, speaking exclusively to News18, Shehnaaz opens up on why Bollywood offers started drying up. “In Punjabi films, the options for me are more. I won’t say that I don’t get as many offers from Bollywood but I’ve become a star in the Punjabi film industry. And that’s the honest truth. It’s rightly said that log chhadte suraj ko salaam karte hai,” she tells us.
“All film industries function that way. If you’re popular, people will come to you and would want to cast you in their films. Main toh beautiful hoon hi aur actor bhi achchi hoon. I get a greater number of lead roles in Punjabi films. The other reason is that there are very few women actors there,” she adds. But even in Pollywood, she had to wait for the right parts to come her way.
“I’ve been getting a lot of offers from Punjabi filmmakers in the past five-six years but I wasn’t getting excited by most of the scripts. Most of them required me to not do any heavylifting. All I had to do was smile and laugh. I just want to do good, meaningful work. But thankfully, I got Ishqnama,” remarks Shehnaaz, who also has Singh vs Kaur 2 in the pipeline.
She’s trying to navigate the same issue in Hindi films too as she doesn’t want to do one just for the sake of it. “When it comes to Bollywood too, I’ll do a film only if I’ve a role that leaves an impact. Otherwise, koi matlab nahi hai. Cinema aisi cheez hai jahaan aap chhap jaate ho saari umar ke liye. And the only way to be remembered is when you do good work,” she says.
Shehnaaz further continues, “It’s not like I want to appear in every scene throughout the length of the film. But I want my character to be pivotal to the story, a character who can drive the story forward. If I get such roles in Hindi films, I’ll definitely do it.” Quiz her about her deal breakers and she states that she would want to steer clear of dance numbers no matter how big the film is.
“I don’t want to be in a film only for glamour. I don’t want to be used as a prop. I don’t want to just be a heroine who appears in three odd songs in a film,” she remarks. In fact, it’s Radhika Apte whose footsteps Shehnaaz wants to follow now. “I want to do what Radhika Apte does. She isn’t all about glamour. She’s known for her powerful roles. My dream is to be a good artist,” she asserts.
About the Author
Titas Chowdhury is a Special Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringi…Read More
