‘This is an exciting time for actors’

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Sonali Bendre is in a happy space. The actress, who was last seen in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again, says she is amazed at the way Indian cinema is changing. “And it’s a change for the good.

This is a very exciting time for both filmmakers and actors. Interesting films are coming up and filmmakers are willing to take risks to try out something new. We have all kinds of films being made these days. Indian cinema was never this varied before,” says Sonali, who was in the city to launch “Fight Dengue For Payal” Campaign, an initiative by AllOut from SC Johnson and Voluntary Health Association of India.
Though the actress made an appearance on 70 mm screen after a nine-year hiatus, she insists that she never plans her films. Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Again just happened since it was Ekta Kapoor’s film, she says. “Ekta’s mother Shobha and my mother-in-law, Madhu Behl, have been friends for years now. Another reason why I said yes to the film was because it was Milan Luthria’s project, and I have worked with him in many films,” says Sonali, adding that now she will take up films that interest her.
“People ask me where have I been all this time. It surprises me since I have always been around. The industry is an integral part of my family as my husband (Goldie Behl) is a producer,” she says.
As of now, Sonali is busy with her TV shows and son, Ranveer. “My son has just turned seven years old and I know soon he will grow up and get busy with his friends. Till then I want to be around my son. It’s not easy to handle a child, it’s a 24x7 job. So, TV provides me a great balance for work and home. When I joined TV about 5-6 years back it was not a sought after medium and people said that I was mad. But then soon enough more and more Bollywood personalities — from actors, choreographers to directors —started joining TV,” she adds.
Sonali is a trendsetter. She has not just inspired Bollywood fraternity to join TV but was also one of the very first models to turn actress. Sizzling Sonali in Hamma Hamma from Bombay and many more films to follow proved her acting mettle on-screen. “At present Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma are some of the models turned actresses who I believe are doing very well,” says Sonali.
As she juggles time between her family and work Sonali says whenever she gets some time off, which is very rare, she likes to read. “I love to read all kinds of books but science fantasy fiction is my favourite genre,” concludes Sonali.