Actress Jasmine Bhasin, who has carved a niche for herself in the Punjabi movie industry, is a name to reckon with. Not many know that the actress made her movie debut down south at the tender age of 18.
In an exclusive conversation with MoneyControl, Jasmine shared with us her views on working down south and how different it is to work in the Punjabi film industry.
Jasmine made her debut with the Tamil movie Vaanam in 2011 and later worked in other south Indian languages. She did the Malayalam film Beware of Dogs (2014), the Telugu film Veta (2014), and Ladies & Gentlemen (2015) before shifting focus to TV.
While talking to us, Jasmin shared her experience working in South films during her teens. She says it wasn’t a great experience as she didn’t get any proper guidance.
“When I started, I was very young; I had no clue; I was 18; there was no social media. There was no exposure. To me, I would say it was not a great experience because I did not get the right guidance. The difference now is that the South has become really, really big; everybody is dying to go work down there. It has made itself a really successful and huge market. That's the difference. That time also, south was really big, but in the eyes of Pan India, it wasn’t that big, but now if you see south, Indian cinema has become so much bigger than when I actually really tried there,” she said in the interview.
The actress has now shifted her focus to Punjabi movies and says she loves them thoroughly as there is a certain comfort level.
“It has been great working in Punjabi industry kyunki (pata hai kya), same-minded people, same environment, same khana peena, same aadatein—it makes a lot of difference. Also, the culture there is beautiful; they work like family; they have breakfast together; we discuss the scenes together; everybody is open-minded to your director and your co-actor; everybody will read the script; maybe you can add this or delete this? They work like family. You don't feel like you are in a professional space. I have felt like that,” she added.
Jasmine was seen in her first Punjabi film, 'Honeymoon' opposite Gippy Grewal, which was released in 2022. She is now working on other movie projects too.
You are a successful actor in Punjabi, which is also your mother tongue. How was it working on your home turf?
“I think none of the industries are very different—be it Punjabi or South. There is a certain professionalism required in every field because there are digits involved. The only difference I feel is that Punjabi is different from South because Punjabi is my mother tongue. I understand and get along with people, but in South it was difficult for me as language was a barrier and I was very young. I was very scared and in my own space, so I was a different person then, and I am a different person now. So that's the only difference—that I am a different person.”
Jasmine said she would love to work in the south industry again as she is now a completely different person.
Jasmine: “I think industry-wise, all the places are the same, professional, and full of love. I can't wait to work down south as well. Honestly. I want to give it another try,” she ended.
Jasmine recently went on a trek to Hemkunt Sahib Ji and posted a few pictures of it on her social media. When asked what prompted her to take this journey, Jasmine said she loves to meet new people and get to know them.
You trekked all the way to Hemkunt Sahib, almost 15,200 feet, recently. How was it?
Jasmine: “It was a fabulous experience. I believe pushing yourself out of your comfort zone once in a while, reminding yourself what you are made of, how far you have come in life, and how far you can still go, just if you believe in yourself and do not forget that you have come so far in life, then you can go ahead. It reminds you of that meaning because life seems to put you down sometimes. There are certain situations that start demotivating you, so remind yourself once in a while of who you are and why it is important to take such challenging steps. And trip to Hemkunt Sahib ji is a gurudwara, which is on the highest peak, and of course, when I reached there, I felt great calmness and peace. And blessed, honestly. I was feeling blessed that I could reach up there, so it was a beautiful feeling for me. Also, a sense of achievement brings back confidence in you in life. That also happened.
How did your fitness and gym routine help you with this?
Jasmine: Yes, yes, my fitness and gym routine played a very important role in it because you need to have a certain level of physical fitness to climb up. You need to have great lung capacity because oxygen levels are depleting at such heights. but trust me, initially I felt it was difficult because I had trekked for 3–4 days before starting my trek to Hemkunt Sahib ji. I felt it was a blessing; it was God's calling that I could do it very happily and very comfortably, and trust me, aap jab aik baar upar pahunch jate ho toh aap apni saari thakan bhool jate ho. But yes, the fitness quotient is very important. And since I have been training for one or two years, I have become very focused on my fitness. I was the girl who used to hate going to the gym, but now I have become this person who cannot start her day if she does not workout. I think if I stay fit like this and continue my fitness regime even when I am 70, I can climb mountains then, and that is my goal.”
How did you manage? And who all accompanied you?
Jasmine: I know this about myself: mentally, I am a very strong person. I am strong to that level. Jisko dheeth bola jata hai. Jo maine soch liya woh maine karna hi hai. So I managed it, and I chose a random group of strangers to do this activity with. This is my yearly routine to do an activity with strangers because it is an exercise for me because we live our lives in the same circle and have the same kind of conversations. We have to know other people too, and logon ki zindagi mein aur bhi kuch ho raha hai, problems hoti hai, positivity hoti hai. We start losing touch with reality; we stay in such zones, our bubble. So I make sure that I break that buble once a year. I do this every year, and I spend time with people whom I do not know, and I learn from them and understand that everybody is going through something or another. And there are other things too; people could love you, like you. Right now, I am loved for the profession I am in, and there is this image that everybody has, but when you meet ordinary people, they start loving you for the person you are. They start liking you; they know you, and I think it makes me feel really, really nice when I get the unconditional love, not based on the fact that I am an actor and I am popular. It was a lovely group of people, and I still miss them. I talk to them almost every day. I feel blessed that I got such an amazing team, and they made me feel like family there throughout the journey, taking care of me. It felt like I was climbing up with my family.
The actress has worked on many TV shows in the past and is also looking to make her OTT debut soon.
She rose to fame after her performance in Bigg Boss, and that is where she and Aly Goni realized their love for each other.
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