The journey that began with shuttling between innumerable local trains, ended up at being the most discussed person in the cheesy exchange of words between fellow commuters, in that very claustrophobic bogie.
The difference between the rustic bylanes of Thane and the glittery over bridges of posh central Mumbai, is just not limited to the kilometres that bound them, but also the sensibilities that divide them. Interestingly, not many let these boundaries stop them and the more you underestimate them, the stronger they roar and eventually eat out what was set as bait for someone else. One such lioness, who too belongs to Thane, Poonam ‘bare all’ Pandey, is a fine example of a humble story of struggle, which is too in your face to ignore. This 19year old, has done every possible thing to ensure that she’ll be in news, even in days to come- from making an infamous ‘unfulfilled’ promise to strip if India won the World Cup 2011, to posting two of her hot videos on Twitter that showed her undressing for a magazine shoot, to claiming Rs 2 crore to be too less an amount to strip on national television (read for Bigg Boss 5).
The ‘not so drop dead gorgeous’ yet sultry Poonam, managed a spot for herself amongst the Top 8 contestants of Gladrags 2010 and if that wasn’t all, this controversial babe also featured in the coveted Kingfisher Calendar Girl Hunt. Well, these things didn’t come cheap, did they? “I belong to a Brahmin (read conservative) family and whatever I am today, I had to fight for it with my parents and it was difficult to achieve a stand in the glamour world.” exclaims Poonam.
Hinting at an obvious resentment from her family’s side, the model adds, “Being a part of this industry was my choice. Though my mother belongs to a small village, I have never been there. She chose to be a housewife, but I wanted to do something different and achieve name and fame. My relatives have always been pointing out fingers at me, but I have done what I wanted to do and feel good about it.
Poonam, who admits that she has experienced a conflict with her parents, goes on to explain the extremity of friction she underwent with her family, “During the World Cup controversy, I had to move out of my house and stay alone, as my parents were upset with the controversies that were doing rounds. But now, things have changed and we stay together in Goregaon.
”Well, it’s just not women from conservative families, who have to break away from the shackles of stifling expectations, but some belonging to cities, too undergo the same struggle of fighting it out at the home ground, weathering monetary troubles and then finally reaching Mumbai to start the struggle all over again. Bhojpuri item girl, Sambhavana Seth, who’s originally from New Delhi, didn’t have it easy either. The actress, who’s remembered for the brickbats she exchanged with fellow actress Kashmera Shah, inside the Bigg Boss house, in the second season of the famous reality show, has seen it all. She grew up amid the narrow streets of one of Delhi’s most famous Punjabi mohallas and talking about her struggle, she does confess to facing a thousand hurdles and umpteen number of Indian double standards.
“I come from a typical Delhi wala family, living in Janakpuri. Though at first, my family was not very convinced with the idea of me entering the glamour industry, but deep down I knew that I was a good dancer and that I could prove myself. More than my parents, my brothers were against me coming to this industry. But things changed the moment I won ‘Dancing Queen’. Today, I can proudly say that I earn more than any of my family members and I’ve got two flats in Mumbai, which no one has been able to do,” says Sambhavana.
Sambhavana, who considers her father to be her ultimate teacher, goes on to say that she’s glad for the acceptance, “He (My father) has always taught us to face the reality of life with a smile. Today, when I am getting my new house renovated, he has come all the way from Delhi to help me out with it. Now, my family is proud of my decision and I think that gives me a lot of joy.”
A Delhi based model, who belongs to Haryana and refuses to be named, ushers a similar sentiment when he says, “It’s not about belonging to a small town, but purely about one’s sensibilities. Today, you can’t just say that people, who come from small towns, face all the resentment. In fact my fellow models, who belong to Delhi, face more opposition from their families than I’ve ever experienced. I wanted to be a model since college days and my parents (who reside in Haryana) were more than encouraging. Guess the problem lies in the mindset and not the city one belongs to.”
When we talk about parental opposition, there’s also a contradictory angle to the entire scenario- a large number of new age parents are going overboard in ensuring that their small-town bred fledglings, get that big chance of a lifetime, which will prove to be their ultimate platform to garner the riches they’ve always dreamt of and some, get so empathetic about their child’s dreams that they’re willing to accompany their little bundle of talent, all the way to Mumbai. These sorts are called struggler ‘maa-baaps’ in the local industry lingo.
Item girl Liza Malik, who hails from two extreme cultural backgrounds, has an interesting story to tell. With a Muslim for a father and a Bengali for a mother, the starlet had to face a lot of resistance from her family. “I have always been doing stage shows since the age of four and my mother was the one, who always supported me in this, while on the other hand my father thought that I would not take this seriously for long, but things turned sour after I was crowned Miss Delhi in 2002.”
Liza’s parents got divorced in 2004, perhaps their daughter’s career took a toll on their relationship. Now, Liza has her mother, Kalpana Malik, by her side. “My father could not accept the fact that I wanted to be a part of the glamour industry. My mother has been my constant pillar of support. I am happy that today, when my father’s family sees me on TV, they feel good it, but I am not in touch with my father any more. Whatever I have achieved in life, I am pretty happy for it, as I believe that hard work and talent get paid even when you’re without a God father in the industry.”
Going by these ‘almost there’ stories of struggle, one can truly garner the fact that it’s not the place you belong to that matters in Mumbai, but the place you want to belong to that makes all the difference, for it’s the only city that lets you eat the cake and keep the cherry too.
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