Sonali Bendre was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2018. After fighting the illness and recovering, she made her comeback in 2022 with a web series called ‘The Broken News’. In the same year, she also appeared as a judge on the dance reality show ‘DID Li’l Masters’. After her recovery, Sonali consciously decided to avoid dark and heavy roles, as she felt they could drain her emotionally. She was very clear about the kind of work she wanted to take up.
In a conversation with ‘News18’, she opened up about her mindset, saying, “I really wanted to play hopeful and lighter roles that would’ve kept me happy through it all and I could’ve come back pepped up. I wanted work like that, especially since I had been through a really dark period. I was coming out of it and didn’t want to do work that would trigger me and make me spiral. It was such a fun film (‘Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega’). The amount of fun Saif Ali Khan and I had shooting for it! The energy was great on set. There are very few good, fun and light-hearted stories like that which were being written.”
Interestingly, her latest show, ‘Raakh’, which is a dark and intense watch, was never on her list. But the project came to her and she couldn’t say no.
“‘Raakh’ wasn’t something I was looking for. I wasn’t open to it, but it came my way. It just goes to show how compelling the content was. The script was so amazing and so was my character and the entire team involved. There was no way I could’ve said no to it. I hope I keep getting stuff like ‘Raakh’, stuff I can’t say no to. I do hope more creators and directors see me as someone that people usually don’t see me as. I really didn’t think people were seeing me for roles like this one. Every time I felt I wasn’t being seen that way, somebody was. It took some time, but I’m glad it came to me,” Sonali shared.
Although Sonali wishes she had more screen time in the show, she believes it has opened doors for future opportunities. “It’s not the length I like. I would’ve loved to see more of me in the series. But I’m glad I took the chance because it has been an exceptionally amazing experience.”