A model, philanthropist and former Punjabi film actor but overpoweringly an active Punjabi-origin politician in Canada, Gugni Gill Panaich draws sustenance from her cultural roots to get going. She was born and brought up in Africa but speaks Punjabi and Hindi for that matter in a chaste idiom.
In Ludhiana for a wellness brand’s promotion, she talked with babushahi.com about herself, Punjab connection, her achievements, interests and future plans especially connecting charitable issues concerning Punjab, the land of her parents. Her father hails from village Jargari, near Khanna while mother’s family is from Morinda. A well-known personality from Toronto, Gugni Gill always remained true to her love and bond with her roots. It was for this reason that she preferred to graduate from Delhi University besides studying Computer Science at Chandigarh.
Her friends say she has an instinct to become a great leader, performer and entrepreneur, which, in the beginning, led her to be the part of a happening entertainment industry. She acted in the Punjabi movie ‘Rab Diyan Rakha’ directed by late Dara Singh. She has also walked the ramp for many fashion shows in India and abroad. Besides hosting many shows in Canada, she has to her credit the Miss Punjaban Award and judged several beauty pageants and shows.
She took a break from her professional pursuits after marriage, but the passion to do something in the larger human interest made her restless. In 2014, Gugni Gill ran for elections in Brampton-West riding in Ontario. Though she lost the election but the votes polled in her favour made her all the more determined to actively pursue her foray into politics. In addition to this, she acts as a strong activist for women’s issues in the South Asian Community.
Why politics? “As I always yearned to make a difference to life around either by way of charity work or other avenues, I concluded that politics provides you a platform from where you are in a powerful position to effect changes you want,” says Gugni as our conversation slips to sharing of her proposed philanthropic work especially in Punjab.
As she found the frequent reports of suicides by farmers in Punjab very disturbing, a plan is afoot to provide succour to the bereaved families-the women being the worst sufferers in such cases-in her own little way. “It is really shocking to know that inability to repay the debts amounting to even a few thousands rupees is driving farmers to commit suicides. We have planned women achievers awards shows have been planned at India and Punjab levels in November this year to collect funds to help victim families in such cases,” she discloses adding these awards shows is also meant to promote the cause of women empowerment.
Her passion for charity work was recognised when she was selected as the North American Brand Ambassador for the Imran Khan Cancer Foundation. She has also been honoured with the prestigious Mrs. India United Nations (Delegate) and Mrs. United Nations International (1st Runner Up 2012/2013) awards. She was also a jury member of PIFF Canada 2013. She was recently nominated as a Canadian Ambassador for ROKO Cancer Foundation.
www.babushahi.com wishes her all the best in her endeavours.
Raju William is Associate Editor, www.babushahi.com
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Raju William, Associate Editor , Babushahi.com
raju.william@gmail.com
Phone No. : +91-9855101121
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