Poonam Dhillon addresses nepotism allegations ahead of daughter Paloma’s debut in Dono

Poonam Dhillon’s daughter Paloma will make her acting debut with Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer in Dono. The romantic drama is directed by Avinash Barjatya, son of Suraj Barjatya, and will be released in theaters on October 5. In a recent interview, Poonam addressed the speculations of nepotism and Paloma getting his debut film with her mother's help. 

3 things you need to know 

• Poonam Dhillon made her acting debut in 1970. 
• The actress went on to work through several upcoming decades and is still active in the industry. 
• She got married in 1988 to producer Ashok Thakeria and now shares two kids with him named Paloma and Anmol. 

Poonam Dhillon weighs in on nepotism debate 

In a recent interview with the YouTube channel Rajshri Unplugged, Poonam talked about her daughter Paloma’s journey to get the role in Dono. The actress denied being involved in any way to influence the movie makers’ decision to cast Paloma as the lead actress. 

Poonam stated she doesn’t have any personal connection with Sooraj Barjatya, director of Rajshri Productions and did not pull any strings for her daughter. She said, “I am so happy that my daughter is making her debut with the Rajshri banner. But I have never worked with them, I don’t know Sooraj personally. So, there is no question of me calling him for my daughter’s debut. They auditioned her multiple times before selecting her. They were auditioning lots of newcomers. She got to know that she was selected after six seven months of the audition.”

(Poonam Dhillon has two kids named Paloma and Anmol | Image: Instagram)

Poonam continued by saying that it's depressing that internet bullies frequently fail to recognise the effort these young actors put forth in their work. The actress added it is not possible for anyone to excel in the industry if they don’t have the talent. 

What is Dono about? 

Dono is a love story about two strangers travelling to the same place. It examines contemporary relationships against the backdrop of an opulent destination wedding. At the wedding, going by the teaser, two strangers will fall in love after meeting at the said wedding. Dono marks Avnish Barjatya’s directorial debut after working as an assistant director on the sets of Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo and Uunchai under his father.