"Was very fearful of how I'd be treated...": Poonam Dhillon reveals how the industry reacted to her split from filmmaker Ashok Thakeria

Time of India

30-06-2025

Veteran actress Poonam Dhillon spoke about her journey as a divorced woman in the film industry.
Veteran actress
Poonam Dhillon
spoke about her journey as a divorced woman in the film industry.
In a candid conversation with ANI, the actress shared her thoughts on how life changed after parting ways with her ex-husband, filmmaker Ashok Thakeria.
Poonam Dhillon married Ashok in 1988 and later divorced him in 1997. They have two children together, Anmol and Paloma, and the actress has always remained focused on raising them.
Looking back, Poonam said she was "fearful" of how people might treat her after the divorce, especially in an industry where personal matters often become public talk.
"In any industry, in any place, in any situation, how you get treated is based on how you behave.
So I was very fearful that I'd be upset if my friends or their husbands started treating me differently now that I'm divorced, or if the men started looking at me and, you know, treating me differently," Dhillon told ANI.
"But touch wood, I was really
lucky
and blessed that nobody changed their attitude or started making indecent proposals or insinuating things. I mean, there may have been one or two scattered incidents, but that showed their character, not mine.
And that's true in any profession. Whether you're single, divorced, or married, those few suspect characters would still behave like that. But by and large, I didn't have to face that. And my whole world was so focused on my two kids," she added.
Poonam, who married at a young age, also reflected on her decision. She explained how her busy career and sheltered upbringing gave her little opportunity to meet people or understand relationships deeply.
"Well, I think as actresses, what happens is we live a very protected life. We don't meet too many people. We start shooting in the morning and come back at night. Day after day, at least in my days, it was like almost 30 days a month or outdoors. You were not meeting any people. The people your age, either whom you're working with, were much senior to you or...," Dhillon shared.
On her relationship with ex-husband Thakeria, she added, "My ex-husband is a very nice person.
But two nice people do not necessarily make a good couple, you know. Upbringings are different, your values are different, your interests are different."
On the work front, Dhillon is best known for her 1979 film Noorie. She also worked in Red Rose, Dard, Romance, Sohni Mahiwal, Teri Meherbaniyan, Samundar, Karma, Naam, and Maalamaal. Poonam made a special appearance in Judaai. She also made a mark on TV and was seen as a contestant on Season 3 of Bigg Boss, which aired in 2009. The veteran actor played the lead role in the serial Ekk Nayi Pehchaan.