Saturday, November 16, 2002
Z E R O I N G  I N  O N . . .


The actress who has gracefully switched roles
Aditi Tandon

Poonam Dhillon"MORE often than not, you have to pay the price for being known, loved and respected." Poonam Dhillon has never quite disliked being spotted and pulled at by crowds as much as she does it now. No matter how hard the still-beautiful woman tries to lead a common person’s life, she invariably ends up getting chased after like a star, sometimes by fans who seek her attention, sometimes by family friends who ask her for a group picture and sometimes by press photographers, who still think she needs her share of publicity.

Learning to cope with the stress of being a celebrity is something which Poonam Dhillon does all the time. Less for herself and more for her son Anmol and daughter Paloma, who literally "hate" her star status. "You can be less of an actress but not less of a mother. Not that much of my star status remains anymore, but even the residue troubles my kids. They cannot relate with my popularity... they have not watched any of my films. You’ll be surprised to know that I avoid being photographed in their presence. When I am with them, I am their mother, not the Poonam Dhillon who shot to fame with Noorie. That age is over, so are those priorities. This age is different. I have just accepted the change with grace."

 


Words flow from the depth of her heart as she goes down the memory lane. From the glorious first sip of fame which she took as Miss India in 1977 and the sudden rush of good luck she had as a debutante in Yash Chopra’s Trishul to a dream marriage with Ashok Thakeria and then an end to the smooth journey with the breaking up of her marriage. Poonam has seen it all, roughed it all with courage and dignity. Today she has separated from her man, but she still nurtures a special bond with him, not only for the sake of good times the two had shared but also for the sake of mature acceptance of life as it comes.

"There is a big gap between how things are and how they ought to be. And life is all about learning to adjust to this gap. Marriage was heaven, as long as it was. When it ceased to be so, it was not there anymore. Even though I have parted ways with Ashok, I have no bitterness to show. I believe in marriage, in its power to make life beautiful. I think it is the most positive, the most hopeful thing that can ever happen to two human beings. But then the companionship has to be beautiful too."

As Poonam reminisces her past, her porcelain skin shines in testimony to the pure heart that lies beneath. In between, her children Anmol and Paloma interrupt, as if wishing their mother away from the scene of interview. Poonam hugs them, helps them come around, though only for a while, as they return to say, "You had promised no one would come to see you here. We were supposed to go shopping all day in Chandigarh. Now what?" The mother grimaces, "I told you how possessive they could get. They caution me against the danger of giving myself away constantly. "

The conversation finds its way to the unavoidable —- Poonamm’s starry past and her future plans. "I work the way I want to. I am doing a serial called Kitty Party for Zee. I am associated with Zeenext.com as a consulting editor for their entertainment section and am working with the National Association for the Blind and with the cancer-fighting society called We Care. I help drug addicts whenever I can. I am also planning to direct a fun film shortly. To sum it up, my profile is flexible. Life is centered around Anmol and Paloma, with some moments of sharing with friends Padmini Kolhapure and Rati Agnihotri."

Poonam enjoys spending her vacations with her children, a city special to her heart. "Here I get a feel of my parents. My mausi, who stays in Sector 35, reminds me of my mother. When I come here, I live my youth, which was so laced with love. Kanpur is another place where I belong." It was in Kanpur that Poonam Dhillon was born to Gurcharan Kaur and Amrik Singh, an aeronautical engineer in the armed forces.