Sonali Bendre is making a return as an actress with Zee5’s The Broken News. The actress discusses the program, her early days as an actor, and her struggle with cancer.
Sonali Bendre has returned to the stage after a seven-year hiatus. Her most recent web series, The Broken News, is just her second fiction endeavor since her 2004 feature Shankar Dada MBBS. It’s been a long time. While many have dubbed it her “comeback,” the actress dislikes the phrase. It’s simply a new job for her. Sonali discusses the series, her previous efforts to return to acting, and how she overcame illness in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Sonali portrays Amina Qureshi, a 45-year-old news channel editor in The Broken News. And the age factor was significant for the actor, who is 47 years old. She says she wanted a character that was her age for this reason. Without being morbid, I believe I am looking the best I have ever looked. I’ll explain why. Especially after everything I’ve gone through, I find beauty in imperfection and believe that the wrinkles on my face are mine. I believe they convey a tale, which I find very lovely. Not just on my face. I’ve always thought that faces with wrinkles are more appealing because they convey tales. Otherwise, it’s just a blank canvas, which bores me.”
It wasn’t only the persona, however. Sonali says she was drawn to the tale and the performance itself. The Broken News, which premiered on Zee5 on June 10, is about two rival news networks. “I wanted a tale that was contemporary and hopeful.” “I believe storytelling is about hope because I read tales to find hope,” Sonali adds, adding that the program has a unique blend of being both hard-hitting and optimistic. She goes on to explain, “That blend is what I find interesting because I’m not saying everything has to be effervescent, glittery, and joyful..”
However, The Broken News is not the first tale to appear in the media and on news networks. However, Sonali believes that this one has arrived at the opportune moment, considering the recent growth of 24-hour news networks in India. It’s been a while since she’s heard stories on this topic, she adds. Goldie’s (her husband, Goldie Behl) debut film was about the media (Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai, released in 2001), and it was poorly received. Maybe it wasn’t the right moment. Perhaps the crowd was not prepared. I’m not sure what it was, but something told me that this needed to be communicated right now.”
Sonali gets to portray a character with shades of grey, but where glamour is not an aspect or feature of their personality in Amina. It’s something she didn’t get to do much of in her early years as a leading woman in the 1990s and 2000s. “I am an unintentional actress,” she says. I started into the profession not wanting to act, but because I kept receiving offers, and it was the easiest way to obtain that salary. And I had to work for it. It was what my family and I needed, so I did it. Then I reached a stage in my job when the next salary was no longer a pressing requirement. Then you begin to experiment and try new things. From a financial standpoint, it may not be the greatest option: consider Anahat (her 2003 Marathi feature with Amol Palekar). You reach a moment when you wonder, “How can I evolve?”The image that helped you earn that money and become who you are now has become a trap.” There is no way out of it.”
READ: In response to Vidya Balan’s demand to end domestic misogyny, Mira Rajput has urged men to ‘be ready to be asked what to cook
