Amritsar, March 5, 2005
Dolly Sohi, who plays the title role in the afternoon
soap Bhabhi at 1.30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays on Star
Plus wed Canada-based NRI Avneet Dhanowa in
hometown Amritsar on March 4.
Sohi resumed shooting for this UTV daily on April
3. “It’s back to the grind now,” she
says. “Life has changed for me. Marriage makes
you a new person. You look at things with a totally
different perspective.” She entered as the lead
in Star Plus' Bhabhi from its 160th episode has come
a long way playing the afternoon soap queen on Star
Plus.
Avneet Dhanowa based in Victoria, Canada is
an NRI software engineer, originally from Jalandhar.
It's an arranged match. I met him for the first time
at a filmi party, where Preeti Sapru introduced me
to him. His aunt called my parents a few days later
with the proposal. His innocence and smile! The best
thing about him is that his heart is as clean as his
clean shaven head!!
About the wedding, she says, “Everything went
off very well. It was a traditional affair. There
was the chudha (bangle) ceremony, sangeet, mehndi
and wedding, followed by the reception.
I was glad that several of my co-stars and the director
could make it to Amritsar.” Adds Sohi, “We
went to Mauritius for our honeymoon. Later, we flew
to London as Avneet has lots of family there. We had
a reception there too.”
The small screen’s bhabhi says she will continue
acting as long as she can. “Ours will be a long-distance
marriage. I am taking things as they come.” She
hopes to be with her hubby in London in July.
“I will be there for about 20 days. At present,
he is in London and will be relocating to Victoria
in July, that’s when I hope to spend time with
him.”
Sohi has been acting in Bhabhi for two-and-a-half
years. She earlier featured in the Balaji soap Kalash
(Star Plus).
Earlier, Sohi acted as Rano in Balaji’s Kalash
and Cinevista’s Sanskriti in which she played
the bubbly college-going Gauri. In Kalash her role
was rather similar to that of Pushpa in Bhabhi - that
sober, caring, sacrifical lamb, Bhabhi. the actress
believes a woman should be like her - understanding
and caring especially when it comes to a joint family.
‘‘Of course not so sacrificing and so nice
like in our soaps but she should be nice and loving
and she shouldn’t be breaking up homes,’’
says she.
Well, that’s what Pushpa is like in this daily.
What Sohi appreciates most about Pushpa is that she
loves and cares for everyone, but what she dislikes
about her is that she doesn’t care for herself.
‘‘Pushpa is so much like me, of course not
to this extent. I am not so nice, ’’ she
admits, ‘‘But I am enjoying playing her
character.’’
Sohi was summoned by director Ashok Shekhar to play
this part when they were replacing Neha. ‘‘I
think I have been lucky,’’ she says. A Virgo,
she does believe a lot in luck and destiny - and God
Almighty too. ‘‘I believe in God more than
myself,’’ adds she. For example, each day
without fail starts with a small puja.
Dolly claims that like Pushpa she is a sweet and
simple girl. She loves to cook or sleep when she is
not shooting. And in the kitchen too it’s not
Chinese, Mughlai or Continental, but absolute desi
Punjabi khana - simple dal, rice and rajma. “I
can cook anything and everything in Punjabi food except
non-vegetarian,” reveals Dolly, a veggie herself.
That is quite surprising for a sardarni. “When
I am not working, I am sleeping like a log, that’s
because I don’t get enough time to sleep. We
shoot almost 25 days a month,’’ she adds.
Dolly loves music too and for her it’s not pop
but old Kishore Kumar songs and ghazals by Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan and Ghulam Ali.
My Birthday - 15 September
Saroj in “Bhabhi” - sports mangalsutra,bindi
& sindoor, none of which I use in real life!
What people don’t know about me -I am the youngest
member of the revising committee in the Censor Board
My sex appeal - my tears in 'Bhabhi', which are actually
glycerine!
This week - I am going to discover I am pregnant
in “Bhabhi”
Sexiest man on television - Aly Khan
Sexiest woman on television - After me, Sangeeta
Ghosh
I originally belong to - Apna, hamara, sabka pyara
Punjab
Lust is - not suitable for me, as long as I am working
in “Bhabhi”
First crush - was in school on someone who loved someone
else
My all time accessories - sunglasses and my bracelet
My dogs - Tuffy and Tango
Sunday - happens to be just another day in the calendar
I am scared of - cockroaches, rats and MCPs
What I never learnt - swimming
