Sukhmanee Lamba Decodes 'Jubilee' Role, Industry Challenges And Mental Health

Growing up in Delhi, Sukhmanee Lamba dreamt of a career in entertainment after she tapped into her performing skills right from her school days. Lamba, who was also seen in Dharma Productions’ ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ bagged a role in Vikramaditya Motwane’s historical drama ‘Jubilee’.  As her role garners positive attention on OTT, we sit down with her to discuss her journey and the challenges she faces on an everyday basis as an artist.

In this interview with SheThePeople, Sukhmanee Lamba looks back at her journey in entertainment, her struggles, why she prioritises the joy of performing rather than the number of roles she does, how she caters to her mental health, and what keeps her going.

Sukhmanee Lamba Interview

Elaborate on your journey of dreaming of being an actor and finally living your dream as an actor

I've been into performing arts since my school days. It commenced with dancing that served as a milestone in landing me on stage. However, I never wanted to restrict myself, which is why I started indulging myself in theatre and drama. I found them quite engaging. Post-college, I went to the Kingdom of Dreams where I encountered esteemed personalities from different industries that resulted in getting insights from all those directors and writers. Kingdom of Dreams boosted my calibre to work even harder to rise to the occasion and reach where I intended to. Moreover, coming in contact with people from the National School of Drama and FTI also solidified my foundation as a performing artist.

Through Badri Ki Dulhania, I made a debut in Bollywood films where I played the role of Alia Bhatt's Sister that was loved by the audience and opened multiple opportunities for me.

Why did you yearn to become an actor? Why didn't you abide by the traditional professions such as doctor and teacher? What was the 'why' in your journey?

I'm exceedingly indebted to my mother because she was the one who always focused on the diversification of our personality. She motivated us to go for several activities that could fascinate us and we tried our hand at almost everything. I came out to be pretty good at performing and, above all, I was happy doing that. I could find my belongingness to the work I was indulged in and it kind of kept me sane enough along with giving me mental support. Apart from it, traditional roles never excited me and I went for my passion rather than settling for conservative jobs prescribed by society.

Being a part of the Acting Industry is not an easy task for women, What were the challenges that you faced throughout your journey?

I am from Delhi, so I was always dicey because the responses I got when filmmakers learned I was from another place were: 'Okay we will call you soon, we will get back to you' but I never heard from them again. Most directors tend to give roles to the residents of Bombay. I had to confront rejections merely for being from another city. While I was doing a lot of good work travelling to and fro, the pressure to move to Bombay was immense.

Circumstances have changed drastically now, and we have filmmakers who prioritise talent rather than location. Even the pandemic played a significant role in transforming the working culture in the industry. Now, artists can find work conveniently regardless of them being from far away locations.

As Jubilee is a female-fronted series, how do you think you navigated that, and what's next in the entire journey, what kind of role do you see yourself playing in the future?

My pursuit of being an actor on the OTT platform came true when the role of Kiran from Jubilee was offered to me. Even though I had auditioned for Niloufer a few times and was completely blown away by the character; she is a dancer just like me, I received a call a few months later where they asked me to audition for Kiran. So, I went in, I auditioned and the first and final call I received was saying that I was locked in for Kiran. By that time, it was easier to make the decision of playing Kiran because I knew more about Jubilee it had been six months since my first audition for the show. I also knew that the female characters in the show were beautifully written.

For Kiran, even though she has a lesser screen time, she had her own arc, she had her own graph, and I felt that this is something that I definitely want to do because she brings her own shades to the story.

She is strong in every possible way. She has been a silent support for Jay throughout even though you don’t see her a lot on screen but she is there anchoring him in a very strong way, making him realise so many things about himself that he probably keeps overlooking. So, I feel that the whole journey of Kiran is beautiful, and she is somebody you can depend upon very strongly, someone who is always going to have your back. I think these are also the characteristics that I really find amazing in women in general and I got to portray the whole pile of traits through somebody who was amazing inside out.

As an actor, what were your lowest points and how did you overcome them?

Well, initially when I was younger about seven years ago, every rejection felt like a low point because you’re almost there as you are shortlisted, and been talked to and you feel like you are going to make it. You feel you will bag the role, but it doesn’t happen, which certainly feels like rejection. However, as you grow, you work with people, and as you continue to work for the joy of performing, then it doesn’t make you feel rejected.

I prioritise working for the joy of performing more than anything else.

I used to feel rejected initially but not anymore because I know that whatever I’m doing, whether it is working with children or performing on stage or even doing a voice-over, or shooting an advertisement, till the time I have work and I am happy with that work, I consider it a win-win situation. Now, I've learned to see brighter perspectives which eventually help me get insights from failures. I put in the utmost effort to give my hundred percent because that's what I can do, the rest is unprecedented and out of my control.

How do you look after your health, as the world of Bollywood is very demanding, and so is the new world of OTT? What’s your advice to women on putting their health first?

I strongly agree with the fact that ‘Health is Wealth’. Since we are talking about health, I want to share an incident from six years ago, when my sister met with an accident. She fell from the first floor, had to go through a spinal cord injury and it was around Badrinath ki Dulhania. it was indeed so hectic as I had to travel from the hospital to the airport, board a flight for the sake of shooting at a Dharma set, for which I’d been long waiting, and then back to the airport and to the hospital. It was a hustle and was taxing for us. My family and I had to ensure everything was in place so my sister could carry on with her normal life. This incident taught me so much about why health matters.

Being in this industry, I have had to take even better care of my ">health. Moreover, being healthy also gives you confidence, as you feel fit from the inside. Here, I’m not saying that someone who is overweight can’t feel fit, It is about being fit from the inside. I would say that feel confident in whatever shape you are but always feel fit and stay happy and feel healthy from the inside. That would be my advice to everybody.

What do you do about ensuring good health?

I’ve been a dancer for all my life and I still dance when I’m not training and every time there is a dance workshop going on around me, the type of dance which I have not tried, I’ll go and do those dance workshops and I do gym, I workout. I try to be mindful about my diet and my body.

I really think that we should listen to our bodies, and make routines as per what suits our health best. It differs from person to person.

Whatever amount of workout you do, you should also try to have an equal amount of rest. It would help if you also were gentle towards yourself, and not go crazy with weights. Above all, I like to mix things like weight training with yoga, dance and meditation. Meditation is something I’ve been trying to make an integral part of my life as it helps me calm myself while being stuck in a distressed situation.

Do you think that everyone in the film industry is comfortable with the idea of therapy? What are your notions on it?

I can’t say that everyone is okay with the idea of therapy in the industry but we can witness that a lot of change now. Now, when people who have been through it showcase a positive change, you feel confident looking at them and think, ‘Okay, one day maybe I can give it a shot too.’ That’s how the orthodox attitude towards the norm of therapy is steadily changing, I believe one must go for therapy if one feels the need for it. Taboos around therapy need to be shattered and open-mindedness should be embraced.

Suggested reading: Every Rejection Was A Low Point: Jubilee’s Sukhmanee Lamba Recalls Struggle