Sonali Bendre recalls being stunned after being offered Rs 25,000 as her first pay cheque; 'I said, does this world exist?'

Sonali Bendre didn’t always aspire to become an actress, but it was her destiny that pushed her towards showbiz. Growing up in a family that spent most of its life changing cities due to her father’s profession, Sonali’s career only saw the light of day when they moved to Mumbai. Recently, the actress opened up about how her first showbiz salary reshaped her decision-making process.

Sonali Bendre on her first salary

It was in the early 90s that the 49-year-old’s first contract worth Rs 25,000 left her stunned and also made her understand that this career had a strong financial impact. While speaking to Mid-Day, Sonali Bendre confessed that seeing the contract had somehow changed gears in her life.

She detailed: “Everything you give and what they said they would give, it was also ‘what!’ I can do this and it got me thinking. So, I said, this world exists?

Sonali then tried to convince her father and told him that with this young age, she had time on her side and asked for a delay of three years to see if she could succeed. She added: “If it doesn’t work, I’ll do what you say, but look at the amount of money. If it works, I can use it for the rest of my life.

Sonali Bendre started acting to support her family

In the same interview, the Sarfarosh actress explained that her main decision to take up acting was because she wanted to save her family from their financial difficulties. “If my father hadn’t gone through that kind of struggle, and if I hadn’t seen how my parents struggled and how they felt, I probably wouldn’t have stood up and said: I do,” Sonali admitted. .

READ ALSO : Sonali Bendre REACTS to receiving mail written in blood, fan dying after not meeting her: ‘I couldn’t understand the obsession’

Sonali began her career as a teenager with modeling before moving into advertising and eventually moving into acting. Some of his best performances are in films like Diljale (1996), Duplicate (1997), Major Saab (1998) and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000).

This is not the first time that Sonali has spoken about an unplanned entry into the industry. In an old interview with Bombay Times, actress Murari confessed that if she was a producer, she wouldn’t sign herself because she had no idea what she was doing.

She said she was grateful for the chance to learn on the job and thought that in today’s times that wouldn’t be possible and you had to be prepared. Sonali added, “Everything I do today is because of what I learned. So whether my potential was tapped or untapped, what matters is how I grew.

The actress said that she believes in the fact that life offers opportunities and more chances and she aspires to make the most of them.

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

Even though Sonali aspires to revive her career in showbiz, she also continues to advocate for cancer awareness and support for cancer survivors.

READ ALSO : Sonali Bendre reveals Saroj Khan was ‘ready to kill her’ for THIS reason on Shah Rukh Khan’s Babu Desi Mem English set