|
|
Queen Bee Bendre - Sonali Bendre
 Sonali takes centrestage as she shares two of her latest roles - that of the reel-life queen in 'Anahaat' and real-life bahurani of the Behl household.
The last year has been exceptionally good for Sonali Bendre. With Amol Palekar's Anaahat , she has made the transition from a glam-doll to an able actress. At about the same time, she also moved on in her personal life when she tied the knot with director, Goldie Behl, son of the late film-maker, Ramesh Behl.
For a conservative, middle-class Maharashtrian girl, the journey from modelling to acting has been quite a transformation. Though she may not have given great hits, she has definitely been noticed in films like Sarfarosh , English Babu Desi Mem , Duplicate and Tera Mera Saath Rahein , not to mention the memorable item-numbers in Bombay and Lajja.
Q: What excited or inspired you about the queen's character in Anahaat?
I liked the fact that she stands up for herself without losing her dignity. Anaahat deals with the ancient practice of niyog , where a queen would choose a mate to sire a child to produce an heir, if the king was impotent. The queen had no say in this matter, while the king's sanction was just an obligatory formality, for the Senate had the power to decide. The subject, therefore, was delicate and needed to be handled carefully to make it respectable and not crude.
In the play (Suraj ki Antim Kiran se Suraj ki Pehli Kiran tak) that inspired the film, the queen chooses her ex-boyfriend for niyog , which I thought was a complete deviation from the story of a woman who was being forced to do something against her wishes, despite her royal status. This is where, Mr Palekar and I saw eye-to-eye and changed the story. I also liked the fact that though the film was feminist in a way, it was not an in-your-face, shouting-from-the-rooftops, sloganeering kind of aggressive feminism.
Q: What is your own interpretation of feminism?
I believe, feminism means having an identity of your own and believing in it. It means being completely comfortable about being a woman. I think, feminism is, also about enjoying certain privileges that only a woman can have. I love doors being opened for me, I adore people offering their seats to me and I love being treated like a lady. I will not take anything lying down! But I do not wish to be a man!
Q: Can you throw some light on your relationship with your husband, since you two come from different backgrounds?
 Look, I cannot understand when people ask me whether he is happy about my working after marriage. The most vital aspect of any relationship is mutual respect. How can I spend my life with a person who cannot respect me for what I am? I have worked hard to reach where I am, today. I have adhered to certain principles and not taken any shortcuts.
I am proud of being Sonali Bendre, the middle-class Maharashtrian girl who got educated, became a model and then, an actor. I have treated my work as a profession and so I have never taken my mother along anywhere. I would like to believe, that there is a lot of dignity and status attached to my name.
Goldie understands all this. Only a film family would understand and respect a person like me better.
Q: What are your parents' views on marrying a film personality?
What shocked my parents, initially, was not that he was doing films but, that he was not a conventional graduate. Even when I first got into films, my parents had asked me, 'Why do you want to get into movies?'. They did not say something like, 'How can you even think of joining films'? They only gave me one advice; they told me to have the courage to say 'no' to certain things.
Coming to Goldie, my parents knew that I was seeing him before anyone else did. Though I really liked Goldie a lot and he was my best friend, I took my time to be sure if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I come from a mindset that believes that marriage is for keeps.
His sister was my best friend and since he was in and out of our house, they knew him and realised that he was not a shallow guy.
My mother just told me that if she was supposed to understand my generation's needs, then I too would have to accept certain values and rules of their generation.
There was thus no filmi explosion; I never had to be slapped, scolded or locked into a room!
Q: Do you feel that the scenario is changing for married actresses?
Absolutely! The situation can definitely improve further, but we are no longer at a stage when married actresses get offered trivial roles. Rati Agnihotri in Chupke Se... , Dimple Kapadia in Dil Chahta Hai and Hema Malini in Baghban have turned the tables. Kajol, Jayaji and so many others are getting great roles now.
|
|
Rajiv Vijayakar
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| | John Players Casual T-Shirt for Men | Cotton Kurta with Gold Print | Spykar's Denim Jeans For Women | | | Rs.1,000 ($20.77) | Rs.1,999 ($41.52) | | Rs.995 ($20.67) | Rs.769 ($15.97) | Rs.1,899 ($39.45) | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask our Experts :
Personality Development, Immigration (US), Tarot, Hot Couture, Face Value, Matrimonial Laws, Infertility, Life, etc, Gender Wars, Shaping Up. |
|
 |
|
Furl it
Reddit
Readers comment
