Sonali Bendre wasn’t someone who always aspired to be an actor but it was her fate that pushed her into showbiz. Growing up in a family that spent most of their life changing cities due to her father’s profession, Sonali’s career saw the sunrise only when they happened to move to Mumbai. Recently the actress opened up about how her first paycheck in showbiz re-moulded her decision-making process.

Sonali Bendre on her first paycheck

It was in the early 90s when the 49-year-old’s first contract worth Rs 25000 left her stunned and also made her realize that this career had a strong financial scope. While speaking to Mid-Day, Sonali Bendre confessed that seeing the contract somehow shifted gears in her life.

She detailed, “Whatever you give and what they said they would give was also like ‘what! I can make this and that got me thinking. So, I said, this world exists?”

Sonali then tried convincing her father and told him that with that young age, she had the time on her side and asked for a time of three years to see if she could make it big. She further told him, “If this doesn’t work out, I will do what you’re saying, but look at the amount of money. If it works  out, I can use that for life.”

Sonali Bendre took up acting to support her family

In the same interview, the Sarfarosh actress shared that her prime decision to venture into acting was because she wanted to take her family out of their financial struggles. “If my father was not going through that kind of a struggle, and if I was not seeing how my parents were struggling and what they were feeling, I would have probably not stood up and said, I’m doing it,” Sonali admitted.

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Sonali began her career as a teenager with modeling before venturing into ads and commercials and then eventually transitioning into acting. Some of her best performances feature in films like Diljale (1996), Duplicate (1997), Major Saab (1998), and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000).

This isn’t the first time that Sonali has spoken about entering the industry unplanned. In an old interview with the Bombay Times, the Murari actress confessed that if she was a producer, she wouldn’t sign herself because she was clueless about what she was doing.

She had called herself grateful for getting the chance to learn on the job and believed that in the current times, it wouldn’t be possible and you’d be expected to come prepared. Sonali added, “Whatever I am doing today is because of what I have learned. So, whether my potential was tapped or untapped, what matters is how I have grown.”

The actress said that she believes in the fact that life gives opportunities and more chances and she aspires to make the best use of it.

Sonali was on a long sabbatical after being diagnosed with stage four metastatic cancer. She underwent treatment in a New York City hospital and became cancer-free in 2021. Bendre later made a comeback to acting with the web series The Broken News in 2021 and was recently seen in the second season of the same.

As much as Sonali aspires to refuel her career in showbiz, she also continues to advocate for cancer awareness and support for cancer survivors.

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