Poonam Dhillon says compliments for her looks used to irritate her

Poonam Dhillon has recalled that she would constantly get complimented about her looks in her early years in the film industry, something which would irritate her a lot. The actor made her debut with the 1978 film Trishul when she was just 16 and went on to earn huge popularity. However, the compliments she used to receive were more about her looks than her acting skills. Also Read| Amitabh Bachchan hugs Poonam Dhillon as Shashi Kapoor looks on

In a recent interview, Poonam was asked to name one compliment she would always get while she was working as a leading lady and a criticism that would bother her a lot. Poonam said that the answer to both the questions is compliments about her look.

She told Siddharth Kannan, “The compliment that I used to get was, ‘oh you are so beautiful,’ and critics would also write that.’ I would think what kind of compliment is this, I have no contribution to it. This face, this skin, this hair, or whatever is God’s gift, my parents’ gift. So I wanted compliments for my acting, not for looks. That compliment used to irritate me.”

Asked if she wasn’t being taken seriously as an actor due to her looks, Poonam said, “In the beginning, I really did not know anything about acting, because I was 15-16 years old, never done acting, so I was very raw, very inexperienced. But even when I started understanding acting, and started giving performances, it was like oh she is so beautiful. Go further than that. It took a couple of years for people to start understanding that this is also needed.”

Poonam is preparing for the release of her next film Plan A Plan B, which stars her alongside Riteish Deshmukh, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Kusha Kapila. The film will start streaming on Netflix on September 30. She will also be seen in Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Vikram Vedha which will release in theatres on the same date.