Determined to break into the tough Indian cinema industry, Neeru Bajwa left her family, friends and everything she knew behind in 2001 to travel to Mumbai in hopes of breaking into Bollywood. She faced challenges and obstacles along the way, meeting them head on and through determination, talent and charm; she has proved herself and today is the darling of Punjabi cinema.
“I took the leap because I wanted to become an actor in India, in Indian industry and that’s all I knew, was films and acting and performing. So I obviously knew nothing was going to happen here, and I wasn’t interested in getting into the industry here. I wanted to be a part of the Indian film industry, so that’s it, I just begged my dad and left,” Bajwa told me in reflection.
She grew up watching Bollywood films with stars like Amitabh Bachchan, and says from her first film, she was hooked – “I was just stuck on films and that’s all I wanted to do. I used to watch like three films a day,” she says with a laugh.
It is often difficult for Indians, who are born and raised abroad, to break into Indian cinema and the Bollywood industry due to the challenge of overcoming foreign accents in films. However, Bajwa was able to overcome this challenge and explains how she did so.
“I didn’t have any formal training. At home, we spoke Punjabi, which I think is kind of similar to Hindi. And then watching so many films everyday, doing my training in front of the mirror and literally doing all those scenes, I think that’s how I was familiar with the language,” explains Bajwa.
“When I went there, I pretended that I wasn’t from Canada. I said I was from Punjab, so that is why I couldn’t speak Hindi and I lied and said I can only write and read Gurmukhi, I couldn’t do that also. But I didn’t say I’m from Canada, because they would think you don’t know anything about the language and all that, so I just said I’m from Punjab,” she adds.
Some of the challenges Bajwa faced in pursuit of her dream was meeting “sleazebag directors” and she explains “you meet the good and the bad, and it just depends on how you handle it. You can either let it get to you, leave the battle and come back home or you can keep fighting, come out a winner and that’s what I did. These things happen and I think they happen everywhere.”
She talks about the hard work and dedication it took to achieve her current level of success in Punjabi cinema and says “I’ll be honest, it is a male dominated industry, it’s been a tough battle and still is today but I am standing here with all the boys and it’s been really difficult, the whole journey but somehow I made it.”
Memorable Punjabi cinema films include ‘Jatt & Juliet,’ ‘Pinky Moge Wali,’ ‘Jihne Mera Dil Luteya’ and ‘Heer Ranjha: A True Love Story.’ Her favourite role to date is of Heer, as it’s her favourite film, performance and
character.
“I think for all Punjabi women, Heer is like the ultimate woman and it’s every girls dream to kind of play Heer or be compared to her in some way or the other.”
She dishes on upcoming projects, and first up is the much anticipated sequel – Jatt and Juliet 2, which opens in theatres on June 28. Naughty Jatts will be released in July and there is an untitled film being released in September. “Hopefully you guys won’t get bored of me,” she jokes with a smile. For the last couple of years, Bajwa has won the PTC Punjabi Film Award for the coveted title of ‘Best Actress,’ and she is thankful to her fans for their support and passion for her films.
Bajwa has starred in several Bollywood films with actors like Vivek Oberoi in ‘Prince’ and the megastar Dev Anand in ‘Main Solah Baras Ki.’ She reflects on the experience, “Dev sahib was a legend and it was great meeting him. It was an honour to work with him and experience his energy and talent.”
She also has experience in Indian television with soap operas like ‘Hari Mirchi Lal Mirchi,’ ‘Astitva…Ek Prem Kahani,’ ‘Jeet’ and ‘Guns and Roses.’ However, she prefers films to television and reiterates “I definitively prefer films because I get bored really easily and with television, it was like the same thing, same story over and over again. And I feel that when I did television, the story was still relatable, but I think today, it’s quite regressive.”
Bajwa, along with her manager and best friend Santosh Tithe, launched a production company earlier this year called ‘Fresh Air Movies.’ She is excited about the company’s first film, which will star Diljit Dosanjh and Gurdas Maan, but wouldn’t provide any further details about the film, fans will just have to wait and see!
“We think we have a lot of great ideas,” she says adding “We are very passionate about films and in the Punjabi film industry, it’s kinda tough to come around, there’s very few professional producers, who really are in it for the love of films, so that’s why we decided to step into production as well.”
Bajwa was back in Canada for the ‘Vaisakhi 2013 with Jatt & Juliet’ show, which took place on April 20 in Abbotsford. She said the show was well organized, and would have it all – comedy, glamour and dancing. She was psyched about performing in BC, and says “It’s really a dream come true, because when I was a little kid, I used to go to all these concerts and I dreamt that one day, I would be up there performing in my home town, so it’s huge for me.”
As our interview was coming to an end, I asked her ‘What advice or words of encouragement would you provide to Canadians who want to break into the tough Indian cinema industry?’
She responded with, “I have seen a lot of people go from here and mess up their lives. Firstly, it’s very important to be honest to yourself, and whatever is happening over there [in India], to tell that to their family because a lot of youth get stuck there in weird situations. You need your family support, otherwise you can get lost so I think it’s really important to be honest to yourself. Stay hardworking, there is no easy way and just keep your family with you.”
