Pollywood: Acting is a craft that needs regular practice, says actor Sonam Bajwa ahead of ‘Jind Mahi’ release

Hometown

Born in Bilaspur city of Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district, Sonam moved to Nanakmatta in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, a new state which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. She later moved to Delhi to study and explore new opportunities, followed by Mumbai, where she is presently settled.

Family

Both her parents are teachers who always wanted Sonam to become a doctor but the actor wanted to tread on her dreams. She has a twin brother Jaideep Bajwa, who is an engineer.

Education

Sonam did her schooling from Jaycees Public School in Uttarakhand and later pursued graduation through open learning during her stay in Delhi.

How did you enter the industry?

“My parents wanted me to be a doctor but I had no interest in becoming one. It was a bit of hard work for me to convince my parents for a field other than medicine. Initially, I tried convincing them for fashion designing, but somehow, I wasn’t sure about it myself,” Sonam said.

The actor added, “On being asked about what I wanted to do, I told my parents I wanted to travel a little bit and enjoy my life. And, therefore, the idea of working as an air hostess came to my mind. Though they were reluctant in the beginning, they still agreed and supported me. This led to my brief stint in the aviation industry.”

Sonam later took a job in Mumbai and decided to take part in a pageant, which was her secret dream ever since she was a little girl. “I knew I could not try it being in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand or Delhi so staying in Mumbai was a deliberate decision to fulfil this dream. In 2012, I applied for the Miss India pageant, I cleared the auditions and a few rounds as well but I couldn’t make it that far. I was extremely heartbroken. But as luck would have it, just when I was out of the contest, I got my first call for a Punjabi film, opposite famous actor/singer Gippy Grewal.”

Even after the first movie, Sonam wasn’t sure of continuing in the field as none of her family members had done anything like this before. “Besides, I did not have any support system or someone to guide me. However, it was while filming for my second project that I decided to pursue acting as a career,” the actor shared.

Tell us something about your upcoming film ‘Jind Mahi’

“The movie has been produced by the White Hill Studios. It’s one of the leading production houses in Punjab which launched me and introduced me to the Punjabi film industry. Till date, I have done several films with them,” Bajwa said.

Divulging details about the movie, the actor said, “In Sameer Pannu’s debutante directorial ‘Jind Mahi’ I will be seen with Ajay Sarkaria, who shared the screen with me in ‘Ardab Mutiyaran’ as well. Majorly shot in London, the movie is a romcom with a unique story of a desi girl and a modern guy. It’s a full package bringing love, laughter, heartbreak, drama and everything to the audience. The songs of ‘Jind Mahi’ have been sung by amazing artists such as Gurnam Bhullar, Dilpreet Dhillon, Gurlez Akhtar, Afsana and many more.”

Works till date

Sonam has worked in various Punjabi films, including ‘Best of Luck’ (2013), ‘Punjab 1984’ (2014), ‘Sardaar Ji’ (2015), ‘Sardaar Ji 2’ (2016), ‘Nikka Zaildar’ (2016), ‘Manje Bistre’ (2017), ‘Nikka Zaildar 2’ (2017), ‘Carry On Jatta 2’ (2018), ‘Guddiyan Patole’ (2019), ‘Muklawa’ (2019), ‘Ardab Mutiyaran’ (2019), ‘Jinde Meriye’ (2020), ‘Puaada’ (2021), ‘Honsla Rakh’ (2021) and ‘Sher Bagga’ (2022).

She has also appeared in Tamil film ‘Kappal’ (2014) and in a few Telugu films such as ‘Babu Bangaram’ (2015) and ‘Aatadukundam Raa’ (2016). In Bollywood, she has featured in songs like ‘Naah Goriye’ of film ‘Bala’ (2019) and ‘Sip Sip 2.0’ (2020) of ‘Street Dancer 3D’.

Upcoming projects

“There are many projects in the pipeline. You will know once the producers make official announcements about them,” said Bajwa.

Favourite song

“I am fond of music, all kinds of music. But you will mostly find me listening to Punjabi songs. I usually play peppy Punjabi music to gain energy when I am in the gym. In the evenings, I switch to sweet romantic numbers. My all-time favourite singer is Sidhu Moosewala. He was a very versatile artist and I love all his songs,” Bajwa said.

Favourite movie

The actor said, “While growing up, Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was my favourite and it is still number one for me. I like watching movies of all genres, be it family drama, thriller, or action. Today, there is so much content available, which leaves us with so many opportunities to explore and watch whatever we feel like at that moment. So, I just love watching everything.”

Claim to fame

It was Bajwa’s second film ‘Punjab 1984’ alongside actors Kirron Kher and Diljit Dosanjh that made a difference. “The movie was commercially very successful and critically acclaimed. It won a national award as well. Even though my role in the film was small, it was highly impactful. I played a simple village girl and was presented in a de-glam look, which helped people take notice of my acting skills. Despite it being my second project, the Punjabi audience accepted me as an actor and that was indeed my claim to fame,” Bajwa said.

Your secret sauce

“I would say it’s hard work. There is no substitute for hard work. Destiny also has its role to play. So, both go hand-in-hand. You can’t leave everything on your destiny and vice-versa. Just work hard, trust God and don’t sweat over things that are not in your control. I always tell myself ‘Do your best and God will do the rest,” the actor said.

Thoughts about Pollywood

Bajwa said, “It’s a growing industry and I am extremely grateful to be a part of it. I know it’s a small industry and we do not have budgets like the film industry in the South or Bollywood. But it’s growing and people’s support is important for us. At this stage, I also feel responsible for taking Pollywood ahead in whatever little way I can. I feel people’s mindset is also changing towards regional cinema and they now see it as a part of Indian cinema. I just wish we get more support from our audience and urge them to watch our films only in theatres so that we can grow better. All in all, I would say that we have come a long way.”

Challenges faced

“The biggest challenge I can think of right now is that as a female actor. It’s been a struggle to get roles that are important in the main plot. Earlier, female artists were not given much space in Punjabi films and I always thought to myself if I would ever get a project wherein there would be more scope for me to perform and showcase what I am capable of or maybe tell a story which is centered around women. Though I always had work in hand by God’s grace, the challenge was to crack a film that would be female-oriented. It took a few years to overcome that barrier but once that phase was over, I was offered projects with more prominent roles and more scope to perform,” Bajwa said.

One fitness mantra

Move your body. In whatever way you like, the actor said. “At times, when I don’t feel like working out or lifting weights, I just go for a walk for an hour or so. Taking a walk seems easier than lifting weights. Some days I do boxing, while on other days I choose something else to keep myself moving. Movement of the body is important irrespective of the activity,” the actor shared.

Your mantra of success in acting

“Well, again, I would say hard work. Acting is a craft that needs to be worked upon consistently. Just like it is important for a singer to rehearse his/her singing skills, it is imperative for an actor to stay in practice. I used to practice even when I was not doing any film and that helped me a lot,” Bajwa said.

Turning point in career

Bajwa said, “My first female-centric film ‘Guddiyan Patole’, which was commercially hit and well appreciated by critics, was the turning point of my career. The movie got me immense respect from the film fraternity and opened my doors to more exciting projects. After this I did another female-oriented film, ‘Ardab Mutiyaran, which was loved by everyone.”