Most celebrity careers are defined by the choices they make.
The right moves have so much power that even not-so-talented individuals can achieve incredible success, but on the flip side, bad choices can kill promising careers of gifted individuals. Those wrong turns can be the result of poor judgement, bad advice or not knowing their own worth.
One celebrity who seemingly falls into the latter category is Shehnaaz Gill. After a slow start to her career, she came to global prominence with an eye-catching appearance in popular reality TV show Bigg Boss 13.
Millions quickly realised she had great potential and the kind of natural relatability that doesn’t come often. This subsequently led to her fan base skyrocketing. It seemed as if everyone knew about Gill’s immense potential except her, which meant others quickly cashed in on that popularity and prevented her from properly kick-starting a special journey.
First, TV channel Colors persuaded her to participate in the utterly ridiculous reality TV show Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. Then singers made use of that newfound fame by getting Shehnaaz to star in music videos, as did others like photographer Dabboo Ratnani, who started getting noticed again after taking photos of her.
The only smart move she made was playing a key role opposite superstar singer-turned actor Diljit Dosanjh in hit Punjabi film Honsla Rakh.
But instead of going after more substantial lead roles worthy of her talent, she has made moves that prevent her from realising that immense potential.
Instead of making full use of her looks, acting ability, singing talent and fan base, she has made choices not worthy of her. Literally everyone could see how much of a dud project Kisi Ka Bhai Kisiki Jaan was right from the beginning, so her agreeing to play a small supporting role in it made zero sense. Bollywood is such a place that if you begin with meaningless supporting roles in a box office disaster, it prevents you from getting those bigger projects.
An even worse decision was Shehnaaz agreeing to act in the Sajid Khan directed film 100 per cent. Apart from him being a bad director, the disgraced film personality is carrying a lot of negative baggage, largely due to the multiple allegations of serious sexual abuse. Although Khan has denied the allegations, a lot of people believe they are true. All this means that his film will be a guaranteed flop and will tarnish her image. The focus in the lead-up to this film releasing won’t be the cast or storyline, but all the nasty things Khan is accused of, and it does her no favours at all to be part of that.
It was also recently announced that she would be joining the cast of The Crew, but again it will be a smaller supporting role, with more attention going to her established co-stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon and Tabu. Diehard fans will argue that landing any type of movie is a win, but history has taught us that how you begin a Bollywood career largely defines what happens next. Fans will also point out that she is making money from a thriving YouTube channel as a talk show host, but those who are benefitting most from it are
the guests.
Someone like Priyanka Chopra Jonas wouldn’t have even thought about doing something like that because she was laser focused on reaching great heights as a frontline star. Shehnaaz Gill has the capability to do that because she is a rare all-round talent but doesn’t seem to know her worth or is getting terrible advice.
She is better than a supporting actress, talk show host, social media personality or someone who appears in music videos. With the right guidance, a good manager, and correct choices, Shehnaaz can reach incredible heights. Although she has made that difficult now with these wrong moves, it is not too late. The first step should be disassociating herself from Sajid Khan and his guaranteed flop film. Secondly, she needs management and supporters who can see her immense potential. If not, she will have a short-lived career and become someone who missed that rocket ship to the moon.
