Up close and personal with Mahie Gill

They say doing theatre adds an edge to your persona as an actor, well after watching Mahie Gill you couldn’t agree more. Born in Chandigarh, this true Punjaban is a famous face of both Punjabi and Hindi Cinema. Though the actress claims to be a very quiet and private person, she never fails to wear her heart on sleeves whenever required. ‘Clarity in thought, power in action’ is what we figured out while sitting down for a candid conversation with Mahie Gill.


By Neha Vashisht

To start things off, we asked for her views on the ongoing protest at Punjab University's Theatre department. "I would like to stand by the students," Mahie said. Being an ex-theatre student and faculty of the department herself, Gill understands the concern of the students. She said she would love to stand by them, but needs to know the ground reality. So far, she doesn’t have a clear picture regarding the protest at Punjab University’s Theatre Department but has urged people to come forward and talk to her. While talking to us, she actually said, “I would want to see the department doing really well”.

When quizzed about her favourite Punjabi actor, pat came her reply, "Jimmy Shergill." In a recent interview with TOI, Mahie said that she feels really comfortable working with Jimmy and thinks he is a very funny and witty person. The duo has shared screen space in both Punjabi and Hindi Cinema.

Talking about her favourite Punjabi director, Mahie picked Navaniat Singh and Amit Subhash Dhawan. Speaking at length about her preferences, she said that Navaniat Singh is one of the renowned names in the Punjabi Film Industry. She worked under his directorial project 'Shareek' and lauds his work. In addition to Navaniat Singh, she is also a fan of director Amit Subhash Dhawan's work. Dhawan directed the 2016 Punjabi thriller 'Aatishbazi Ishq' which was produced by the actress herself. The movie had Gill, Roshan Prince and Ravinder in the lead.

Revealing the only difference in Punjabi cinema and Bollywood, Mahie said it is, "The Language.” “The kind of Punjabi films that I have done, have been really big ones; while working in them and while working in Hindi cinema, I just felt that the language was the difference. Otherwise, be it the making or be it from the direction point of view, everything is quite similar,” she explains.

Sharing her thoughts on something that must change, she said, "The way audiences look at Punjabi Cinema." Being a prominent member of Punjabi movies, Mahie feels that the only change that the respective industry needs is the way it is perceived by the audiences. Though a section of the audience has started accepting the changing phase of Punjabi movies, a lot of people still need to change. According to her, people still think that Punjabi movies are all about cliched comedy and whenever a sensible script hits the screen, it’s doesn’t receive the deserved amount of viewership and appreciation. She added, “But I think gradually things are changing with time because there are films that did well… Diljit’s '84' (Punjab 1984) did well. However, there’s a long way to go.”

Dropping a hint about her next big project, Mahie did admit that she might just be going the Bollywood way. Talking about her upcoming project, Mahie said, “I have produced one (Aatishbazi Ishq) year before last and now I am planning to produce a Hindi one, which may happen in a year or so. I am looking at nice and interesting scripts for it."