“She may not have words, but that shouldn’t make her any less intelligent,” says Poonam Dhillon.
Veteran actress Poonam Dhillon, who has won the hearts of many audiences in Indian films since the late 1970s with her unparalleled beauty, mesmerizing screen presence, and captivating presence, continues to captivate audiences with her timeless charm.
In a recent interview with ANI, she gave an interesting analysis of how actresses of yesteryear behaved on and off the sets.
“Oh, I did that for years. I remained a mute beauty. I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying for years,” Poonam jokingly responded.
Moreover, she explained why the older generation of heroines behaved that way – and for good reason.
“There were two main reasons for that. Sometimes there were people on the sets who would make vulgar jokes (non-veg jokes). It was uncomfortable to laugh and talk with them at such times. We had to act as if we were incomprehensible. We had to maintain some distance in the beginning. Because, as soon as we started responding directly, there was a chance that they would form the wrong opinion of us – that we might be enjoying such things. So, being a mute, acting without stopping, became a natural habit over time,” she explained.
Poonam once again explained how misconceptions about late actress Sridevi developed.
“Sridevi is a very intelligent, mature actress. If she didn’t talk much, she was considered stupid. The media used to write about her in the style of ‘she is dumb, ask her daughter’. This is a big misconception. She was really a bright, active person. Otherwise, how could she have become an actress at that level? I don’t believe this misconception under any circumstances,” Poonam clarified.
She acted with Sridevi in ​​films like ‘Sone Pe Suhaga’ and ‘Judayi’. Moreover, Poonam’s Hindi films like ‘Red Rose’ and ‘Nishana’ were also Hindi remakes of Tamil and Telugu films that Sridevi had acted in.
Recalling her experience working with Sridevi, Poonam said:
“I will always admire her acting. I worked with her in two films… but she had a very reserved personality.”
Sridevi breathed her last in Dubai on February 24, 2018.