Sonali Bendre: Want to play characters with a strong voice

The Bollywood actor, back after a battle with cancer, talks to Vivek M V about her role in a web series

“I still love my glamorous self,” says Sonali Bendre, the Bollywood star who dazzled between late 90s and early 2000s with her stylish appearances in big-star films such as ‘Sarfarosh’, ‘Diljale’, and ‘Duplicate’. At 47, and after overcoming a life-threatening phase, the actor exudes great confidence, with her yesteryear grace and beauty still intact.

But in a bid to adapt to changing times, she wants to be seen differently on screen. “I want to play my age and essay roles that have a strong voice,” she tells Showtime. ‘Broken News’, a web series that aims to capture the explosive world of television journalism, is perhaps the first step in this direction for Sonali.

This is a crucial first step in the second half of her career, given her seven-year gap and a gutsy battle with metastatic cancer, diagnosed in 2018. Sonali deserves full marks for scripting a stirring comeback. Yes she is experienced but the return to acting wasn’t as smooth as she had thought it would be.

“I was really nervous before my first scene,” she says of her shooting days. “Once I cracked that, I felt great and told myself ‘I belong here’. The biggest challenge was to remember my lines. During the prime of my career, I need just two or three practice sessions to get them. But here, I kind of experienced a sense of brain fog. I took some time and worked a new pattern for myself to get my dialogues right,” she explains.

Other preparations included getting into the mind of the character. “I play Amina Qureshi, editor-in-chief and news presenter of a media outlet called Awaz Bharati. The script was detailed in every sense. I worked on understanding the background and the thought process of my character. We aren’t judging media in the show. The series is a reflection of the society and media is an integral part of it. Perhaps ‘Broken News’ could help people make their choices in the world of media,” she says.

A seven-year break is a long one and one wonders if the notion of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ applies to big names like her as well. “It does,” she says. “To land a quality role after a long layoff is difficult mainly because you would have said ‘no’ to so many people for so many reasons. People won’t be sure if you are available to work or not. In this day and age, thanks to social media, I was able to project the way I look and showcase my energy levels. After that, the next step was to go in search of meaty scripts,” she narrates.

Directed by Vinay Waikul, ‘Broken News’ also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Shriya Pilgaonkar. It will stream on Zee5 from June 10.