I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT I WAS DOING WHEN I STARTED OFF

A popular face in the ’90s, Sheeba Akashdeep reveals why she doesn’t appear in movies anymore

Starring opposite the biggest stars in the ’90s — Salman Khan, Suniel Shetty, Saif Ali Khan — Sheeba Akashdeep had a seemingly ideal start to a career in showbiz. But after a few years, the actor left the mainstream scene and segued into production and television.

Sheeba was all of 16 when she was signed for Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi (1991), directed by late actor Sunil Dutt. “At that point, I was already modelling in Dubai, where I was born and brought up, as a part-time job. Sunil ji spotted me and signed me. At that point of time, I continued thinking I would finish the film and go back to study. Sunil ji was pretty sure I was not going to do any such thing,” she recalls.

And that turned out to be true, as a flurry of films such as Mr Bond, Suryavanshi (both 1992) and Hum Hain Kamaal Ke (1993) came her way after that. Calling those the “good days”, she says, “Life was easier, better... it was about personal networking and relations. It was a much more casual approach to working. Now, everything is streamlined. In my entire career, I have not given a single audition. But, now that I am looking to start work again, at this age, I need to do auditions,” exclaims the 51year-old.

But what made her cut down on films in the first place? The actor reveals it was to do with her lack of insight into the business back then. “I didn’t have a film background, so I had no knowledge of what I was doing. I was going blindly by whatever people around me were saying. I should have been a little careful about my choices. I was so busy, I randomly said no to things I should have said yes to... I should have done a little more homework about the job I was doing,” she admits. It was also the lack of “exciting” work coming her which made Sheeba stop working in films. The actor, who was seen in TV shows such as SauBhagyalaxmi and Haasil, also got married to filmmaker Akashdeep Sabir.

And, even though she is thankful for the good equation she shares with everyone she has worked with, none of her closest friends are those actors. “After a while, I stopped socialising with those I worked with. Now, I socialise with my husband’s friends, like Sonu Nigam (singer). I’m also close friends with Bhagyashree,” she says.

SHEEBA AKASHDEEP,

Sheeba Akashdeep with Salman Khan in a still from