Sonu Walia

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

A beauty contest win is said to be the ticket to Bollywood. Many actors like Juhi Chawla, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, etc have won Miss India and International beauty pageants before making it big in Hindi Cinema. Sonu Walia is another such case of Miss India turned film actor.

Born on 19th February 1964 in a Punjabi family, Sonu’s birth name was Sanjeet Kaur Walia. Her father Satinder Singh Walia was an officer in Indian army while mom Damanjit Kaur was a homemaker. Sonu was her nickname since childhood and she also has a sister with rhyming name Monu.

A psychology graduate and student of journalism; Sonu changed gears early and took up modelling. Her charming face and attractive physique got her plenty of assignments and it was at this point Sonu entered the Miss India contest in 1985 and won the coveted title that year.

Soon enough, Bollywood beckoned and the first film Sonu Walia signed was Tanveer Ahmed’s Akarshan which got delayed. Most consider Khoon Bhari Maang to be her first release but Sonu had a small role as a model in 1986 film Shart (1986) which largely went unnoticed. Walia’s next two films came in 1988. The first to release was Rakesh Roshan’s super hit Khoon Bhari Maang in which she played the supporting role of Rekha’s bestie who has an affair with her husband Kabir Bedi. Though a negative role, Sonu’s performance was highly appreciated by audience and critics alike and her sensuous song ‘Main teri hoon jaanam’ with Kabir Bedi is still memorable. Sonu won the Filmfare Best actress in a supporting role for Khoon Bhari Maang and the film remains her biggest success till date.

Walia’s second release in 1988 was the intense romantic drama Akarshan with Akbar Khan as her co-actor. Though the film flopped badly at the box office, Sonu’s sizzling chemistry with Khan and their bold scenes in the movie attracted a lot of press that time.

Sonu Walia’s next few releases in 1989 were Apna Desh Paraye Log, Mahaadev, Toofan and Clerk. Toofan gave her the opportunity to work with veteran director Manmohan Desai and superstar Amitabh Bachchan though she featured only in one song ‘Dont worry be happy’ with Bachchan. Unfortunately, all these films turned out to be box office bombs.

The ’90s saw emergence of the three Khans- Aamir, Salman and Shahrukh- who were shorter in height compared to their seniors like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna. At five feet eight inches, Sonu Walia was much taller than these diminutive Khans and this impacted her career significantly as she couldn’t be cast opposite these in-demand newcomers. In one of her later interviews, Sonu lamented that while she suited playing heroine to tall and macho actors like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna, they were at their fag end as heroes while the newer lot like Aamir Khan and Salman Khan were too short for her!!