Neeru Bajwa B’Day SPL: Neeru Bajwa’s career path has never been an easy one. She started her career in Bollywood films, then switched to TV, achieved her peak in Punjabi movies and finally rose to become one of the biggest money-spinning actresses of the industry. One of the most important periods in her life, however, came much later when she was facing a shortage of offers from the film industry even while she was getting ready to become a mother.
Rather than wait for her comeback in the industry, Neeru took matters into her own hands. As she celebrates her birthday on August 26, it is one of the best examples of how she kept reinventing herself in an industry that tends to discard its female stars too soon.
Neeru Bajwa B’Day SPL: When Film Offers Suddenly Stopped Coming
Neeru has talked about coming to a point in time when people within the Punjabi film industry seemed to feel that she had achieved everything a woman could hope for.
However, this was followed by the slowdown. She remembered how she did not get film offers anymore. Rather than accepting the situation, Neeru and her team chose to make a film themselves. And it happened that at that moment she was pregnant. They decided to do something really simple. It was going to be a low-budget film and they would try their best.
And it paid off. Neeru has talked about how the success of this film gave her a chance to start again, and then Laung Laachi also followed. She has talked about her career in terms of how she got several chances to start again and change all her stereotypes and also those created about her.
From Dev Anand’s Film To Punjabi Cinema Stardom
Neeru had undergone various reincarnations in her career prior to this return. As someone born in Canada, she debuted into films through the movie Main Solah Baras Ki in 1998, which starred Dev Anand. However, Hindi cinema was not quick enough to make her a star right away. After working in television, she gradually turned her attention towards Punjabi cinema.
This shift proved to be very significant for her career. While movies like Jihne Mera Dil Luteya increased her popularity, Jatt & Juliet with Diljit Dosanjh was a game changer for her. She followed up on the success of this movie with the film titled Jatt & Juliet 2, thereby establishing herself as one of Punjabi cinema’s top female stars.
She starred in many movies thereafter including Sardaar Ji, Laung Laachi, Shadaa, Kali Jotta and Jatt & Juliet 3.
Neeru Bajwa Refused To Let Motherhood Define Her Career
Neeru’s post-pregnancy comeback becomes even more significant because she has never viewed her parenthood as an excuse for slowing down in her career.
On the contrary, she has increased her engagement with the industry. Neeru has left acting and started working as producer and director, directing Sargi – a film starring her sister Rubina Bajwa – in 2017.
Such a decision helped Neeru to gain more freedom of telling the stories she liked, especially as she started feeling the shortage of such roles. Moreover, she is now more often supporting the stories about women. One of them is Kali Jotta, which touches the topic of abuse and psychological effects of violence. In general, such stories are not related to romantic comedies, which have been dominating Punjabi cinema.
How Neeru Bajwa Became Punjabi Cinema’s ‘Queen’
Her longevity could well be the reason why she stands out from so many of her peers. Her career spans more than twenty years, during which time she has worked in Hindi films, television, Punjabi cinema and even international films. In addition to earning several Punjabi film awards, she is counted as one of the leading ladies of the industry.
However, her career has not been one of consistent successes. She has had unsuccessful beginnings, changing industries, changing perceptions regarding female stars and times when there were no offers at all. Neeru decided not to wait for someone to define her career any longer and opted to produce a film herself when she was pregnant. This action marked the beginning of another stage of a career which people might have considered to have reached its peak.
Years later, having acted, produced and directed movies, Neeru Bajwa’s greatest accomplishment might not only be becoming the “queen” of Punjabi cinema, but also managing to remain one.