Shehnaaz Gill
Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; May 9, 2022)

Shehnaaz Gill remains one of the most popular contestants to have ever emerged from the Bigg Boss house, with videos of her infectiously bubbly persona during her Season 13 stint continuing to go viral even today. From ‘sadda kutta, kutta, tuada kutta Tommy?’ to ‘such a boring day...such a boring people’, Shehnaaz’s one-liners have been ruling social media for a long time now. However, during a recent visit to an NCR retreat centre, we got to see a more sombre side to her. Last year was a turbulent one for the singer-actress, who lost her dear friend and BB13 co-contestant Sidharth Shukla in September. And though she chooses to refrain from speaking about it, she opens up at length about her spiritual journey. Excerpts:

‘SPIRITUALITY MEIN PEHLE INTEREST KAM THA, NOW I KNOW ISS KE BINA TUM KUCH NAHI HO’
“Actually, jo meri reality hai na, woh bahot pure hai. Mujhe spiritual journey mein bahut zyada interest hai,” Shehnaaz tells us, adding, “Humari life mein mental health important hai and I feel agar hum khush hain, toh hi sab achcha lagta hai. Tabhi hum kaam kar sakte hain. Meri spiritual journey saath mein chal rahi hai.”

Is her interest in spirituality newfound, we ask? “Pehle kam tha, but ab zyaada ho gaya hai. Now I know what meditation is, knowledge ke bina tum kuch nahi ho. I have understood that this is a temporary world and humari spiritual journey kaam aayegi, aur kuch nahi,” she adds.

She continues, “Real world yahi hai, because physical body thodi der ki mehman hoti hai. Hum sabko pata hi nahi hai ki hum kahan se aaye hain. Aap kisi cheez mein interest doge tabhi aapko woh bhi interest dega na? Toh connection banana padhta hai uske liye. Maine woh kiya.”

Shehnaaz adds, “We keep giving time to people around us, but if we learn about positivity and how to live with it, things can get really better.”

‘I AM THE SAME SHEHNAAZ WHO LIKES TO HAVE FUN,PAR ISS SHEHNAAZ KO SPIRITUAL WORLD KI BHI BAHUT KNOWLEDGE HAI’
Talking about reconciling this spiritual side of her with her lighter, ‘fun’ side that the world is more accustomed to, Shehnaaz says, “Shehnaaz Gill woh toh hai hi, kyunki woh reality hai... aur yeh bhi reality hai. Yeh jo Shehnaaz Gill hai, shayad usse baaki cheezon ki knowledge nahi hai, but usse spiritual world ki bahut knowledge hai. I mean, kaise situations ke saath deal karna hai, kaise strong rehna hai, peace mein rehna, yeh Shehnaaz ko aata hai. Yeh alag duniya hai. Shehnaaz fun bhi karti hai... Shehnaaz woh sab karti hai jo life mein karna chahiye, Shehnaaz enjoy bhi karti hai, and iska yeh matlab nahi hai ki maine sanyas le liya hai. Yeh nahi hai ki main sirf meditation kar rahi hoon baithke... tum achhe kaam karo, achha bolo, achha suno, kisi ko hurt na karo. So, I won’t say these are two people. This is one person, but people don’t necessarily get it because reality logon ko pachti nahi hai.”

‘I AM ENJOYING THE FAME...MAIN PEHLE ISKE LIYE TARAS RAHI THI’
Shehnaaz’s fans mean everything to her, and she also took out the time to pose with and greet each one at the retreat. She says, “I am here because of them. Woh mujhe itna support karte hain, mere liye itna time nikalte hain. Mera farz banta hai ki mujhe bhi unhe apna time dena chahiye, na. I feel this is my responsibility. Agar main saamne hoon aur time na doon toh woh galat ho jayega.”

With everything that she does becoming a news story, we ask her if she ever feels overwhelmed by it. She replies, “I am enjoying the moment. Yahi cheez thi, jiske liye main pehle taras rahi thi... ki main kuch banun, ki main kuch aisa karun ki log mujhe dekhein, pasand karein. Tumko har koi toh pasand nahi kar sakta, toh theek hai. Main kuch logon ki favourite list mein hoon, kuch ki nahi. Kya hi problem hai. Jo pyaar karte hain udhar focus karo. It doesn’t bother me.”

‘I WANT TO STAY DOWN-TO-EARTH, KYUNKI MUJHE PATA HAI LIFE MEIN KABHI BHI PAASA PALAT SAKTA HAI’
Talking about her viral videos, she says, “Socho ke jo log bolte thay ki mujhe bolna nahi aata, mujhe baat nahi karni aati, iska accent kaisa hai... haste thay log. Toh aaj meri wahi strengthban gayi, na? Toh mujhe lagta hai kisi ka mazak nahi udhana chahiye. Aaj mere one-liners pe log video banate hain. But it does not go to my head, because I know main aaj yahan hoon, kal ko kuch bhi ho sakta hai mere saath.” 

She adds, “I will never change. Agar yeh change kardiya maine, toh Shehnaaz Gill mein akad aajayegi na, mujhe down-to-earth rehna hai. Mujhe pata hai life mein kabhi bhi koi paasa palat sakta hai.”

While there are reports of her signing up for Salman Khan’s upcoming film Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali, the actress — who was last seen in the Punjabi film, Honsla Rakh — is yet to comment on them. She tells us, “Mera bas focus hai, jo bhi aaye, achcha aaye but my dreams are big. Acting karni hai, brand ambassador banna hai. Singing bhi karni hai, par pehle acting karni hai.”
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The actor-singer says showbiz hasn’t changed her
Monika Rawal Kukreja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 9, 2022)

Shehnaaz Gill introduced herself as ‘Punjab ki Katrina Kaif’ when she first appeared on reality show Bigg Boss 13 in 2019. Soon after the show ended, she earned a massive fan following with countless fan clubs rooting for her on social media. And the actor-singer doesn’t hesitate one bit in saying, “Maine apni mehnat se kamaya hai yeh sab kuch.”

She adds, “Nothing has come to me easily or before time. I believe if something comes to you too soon, it goes away soon. I’m working hard and I’ll continue to do so, because I want to earn more of this love.”

Gill visited Gurugram on May 7 to attend a campaign for girl child empowerment by Brahma Kumaris. She obliged the fans who had come to see her, with as many as 500 selfies and pictures. And before leaving, she made sure to ask everyone: “Happy? Satisfied?”

Mention how this is a rare quality in actors to be so patient, and Gill shares, “Only if my fans are satisfied will I get satisfaction, because these are the people who support me day and night. So, those who love me, I have to love them back.”

An already established name in Punjabi entertainment industry, Gill became a national household name after her stint on Bigg Boss. Ask how things have changed since that show, and she tells us, “I think I am the same. Purity toh same hi hai but I’ve improved a lot in terms of how I can understand things better. Main pehle bhi best thi, ab bhi best hoon.”

While she has shifted base to Mumbai (from Punjab) and is aspiring to work in Bollywood, she asserts that she will always stay connected to her roots. “You can see how Punjabi reflects in the way I talk. No matter where you live, your place of birth and where you started your journey from, it never leaves you. Mumbai has its own charm; it’s the city of dreams. It was my dream to come to this [film] industry, and I’m so happy that I’m living here (in Mumbai) now,” she shares.

While Mumbai hasn’t really changed Gill much, her style and fashion choices have certainly evolved of late. Her airport looks and glamourous photoshoots have been making quite a buzz. “Fashion comes naturally to me, it has been something innate,” says Gill, before adding, “Earlier, I had limited earnings, so I did styling according to that. Also, I wasn’t comfortable in jeans back then because everyone can’t carry it with that weight. Many do it beautifully, but mere se nahin ho paa raha tha, so I was mostly comfortable in suits. But now that I’m making more money, I can style myself better.”

Gill also shares a body positivity message with those who often let other people’s opinions affect them and the way they look. “Whatever way God has made you, it is perfect, so we should never regret the way we look. Never look at the qualities other people possess, rather feel proud of your own body. Stay strong mentally and physically, and there’s a time for everything to happen. Bas ghabrana nahin hai,” she wraps up on a thoughtful note.