Shehnaaz Gill on breaking preconceived notions, facing body-shaming, and Salman Khan

From Bigg Boss to sharing screen space with Salman Khan in debut film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Shehnaaz Gill has come a long way. While on her journey from the small screen to Bollywood, Shehnaaz has had her fair share of rejections, and criticism but she broke preconceived notions and continued to move forward.

Mumbai: Actor-reality TV star Shehnaaz Gill, who has made her Bollywood debut with Salman Khan's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, says she was driven to put her best foot forward in the Mumbai entertainment industry after gaining popularity through Bigg Boss.

Gill was already a star in the Punjabi entertainment industry when she participated in the 13th season of the reality show, hosted by Khan. Known for Punjabi movies such as Kala Shah Kala and Honsla Rakh, the actor said she was "body-shamed" during her stint on Bigg Boss and that motivated her to work on her personality.

"I changed myself, worked on myself. When people gave me good advice, I followed it and improved. I lost weight as I would hear a lot of comments on Bigg Boss about being fat and was body-shamed... Then I changed my style as people would think I could only wear salwar suit. I broke all these preconceived notions and would continue to do so moving forward," Gill said.

READ |'Itni bhi failure nahi hoon' exclaims Shehnaaz Gill stopping interviewer mid-sentence

The reality star said Khan has been a constant support ever since Bigg Boss days. "Sir would motivate me saying, 'You can go ahead, you have potential, work on yourself...'. He always makes me feel comfortable. He's always supported me. I'm very fortunate that I got to work with sir," she said, adding that it was the Bollywood superstar who offered her Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.

A Salman Khan Film (SKF) production, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan also features Venkatesh Daggubati, Pooja Hegde, Jagapathi Babu, Bhumika Chawla, Vijender Singh, Abhimanyu Singh, Raghav Juyal, Siddharth Nigam, Jassie Gill, Palak Tiwari, Vinali Bhatnagar and Rohini Hattangadi. The film, directed by Farhad Samji, hit the screens on Friday. (With agency inputs)