Dad has always been a friend: Pukhraj on his father Jaswinder Bhalla

Pukhraj Bhalla, the second-generation actor taking forward the baton from his father, the veteran Punjabi actor Jaswinder Bhalla, says his earliest memories of his dad are from the acting sets.

“I always shared a deep bond with dad since childhood,” says Pukhraj, who received acclaim as an actor with the Punjabi web series Yaar Jigree Kasooti Degree (2018). He adds, “I always accompanied him on sets, whether it was during his Chhankata series, or shooting sets of his films.”

Calling his dad, “more of a friend than a strict dad,” Pukhraj attributes a lot of his learning to his father. “He taught me a lot about acting right from the time I started acted, most importantly, about improvisation, whether in acting or in direction,” says Pukhraj adding, “The realization about dad being a star came to me while growing up when my school mates would identify me as his son.”

Though Pukhraj is also a full-fledged actor now, he says when only his dad was an actor, he ensured making time for his family. “Dad has found ways to spend quality time with us even if he is busy or we both are working. We take one trip abroad as a family every year,” he says.

Pukhraj, who got married in 2021, says whenever time is right for him to start a family, he would want to parent his kids like his dad did to him and his sister. “Right now, my wife and I have no plans to become parents, I would love to be a dad one day and yes be like my father was to us,” says Pukhraj.