Sonam Bajwa revealed she turned down several Bollywood roles that required kissing scenes, explaining to Film Companion that she was worried about how it might affect her image in Punjab.
Questions and fears
In conversation with Film Companion, she said, “I said no to a couple of things in Bollywood because I was like, Is Punjab going to be OK with it? “We have that mentality, that families will be watching… I was very scared to do a kissing scene in a film back then, because I thought, ‘How are people going to respond to it, how will these people, who’ve made me who I am, respond to it? Is my family going to understand that this is for a film?’ I had all these questions in my mind.”
Parental support
Elaborating further, she added, “It was a couple of years ago, I spoke to my mom and dad about it. They were like, ‘Yes if it’s for a film, it’s fine’. And I was so shocked. Why did I not speak to them first? So many things we assume in our heads. I was so shy to discuss this with my parents, and they were like, ‘Koi nahi, je film liya, koi chakkar ni (It’s for a film, there’s no problem)’.”
Career aspirations
In a 2023 interview with ETimes, Sonam spoke about the kind of films she wished to be a part of. “I want to do that kind of female-centric cinema. Secondly, I love romance as a genre. I haven’t got the opportunity to do an intense romantic film yet. I have done many romcoms. I also want to do a sports film. There was a plan earlier but I had a shoulder injury so it didn’t materialize. When I started, actresses were expected to only look good. Nobody was bothered about their acting,” she said.
