Broken News actor Sonali Bendre: Don’t want to fight my age, but own it

Ever since Sonali Bendre made her comeback in the fiction world, she is inundated with lots of offers. But she doesn’t want to take anything for the sake of it. The actor says she wants to take projects which stay true to her thoughts and her age.
Bendre, known for her roles in films such as Diljale (1996), Duplicate (1997), Major Saab (1998) and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000), took a hiatus from acting following a battle with cancer. She made a comeback with the web project, The Broken News (2022).
“When I wanted to come back to doing fiction, a lot of work was coming my way. But I wanted to be sure about what I was coming back with, what am I saying? What kind of character am I playing? What is the story that I want my son to see? That was very important for me, and that helped me pick Broken News, and the same thought continues to be in my mind,” Bendre tells us.
The 49-year-old adds, “It gives me the opportunity to be able to look good at the age that I am at. I am grateful for my genetics. They make me look glamorous. I’m happy about that because this is a visual business. But one has to grow beyond that. Today with OTT and the kinds of stories being told, I have the opportunity to be able to go beyond that”.
Opening up about how she wants to age gracefully, the actor shares, “Ageing is part of life. I don’t want to fight it. I want to own it, because I have the lines on my face. The scars on my body are the stripes I have earned. These are the battles I have fought. I don’t want to be rid of them. A blank face will be life that has not been lived. These lines show a life that has been well lived, when and I want to wear them with pride. I want characters and roles that go with this thought process of mine.
Here, she asserts, “My illness has taught me that beauty is in imperfection. Perfect things are not as beautiful as imperfect things are. I have learnt to love my imperfections. Now, I don’t want to be stuck with just the looks. I want something beyond that which is where Broken News comes in. I am looking forward to the second season”.
In fact, she is happy to see people taking her more seriously as an actor, and not just focus on her good looks.
“It took a while for me to break away from that image. Now, the scripts that are coming to me are more to them than just me looking good. I’m very grateful about that. I want more of those, which is why I am being selective today,” she ends.