Sonali Bendre INTERVIEW: 'More Than My Hair Coming Back, I Was Worried About My Eyelashes And Eyebrows'- EXCLUSIVE
SEE THE VIDEO BELOW. Watch Sonali Bendre recounting her battle with cancer and smiling away to glory even in today's times of COVID-19. That's the spirit!
Sonali Bendre has battled through the deadly C with utmost bravery and courage and kudos to the actress for going through all of it with a wide smile on her face, leaving all her fears behind. Today, as I talk to the lady, we sense her victory and feel proud to know her struggles that have made her into such s stronger woman.
In times of COVID-19 for Sonali it must have been even more daunting considering she has just been out of a serious illness. Yet she sportingly agreed to chat with me.
Here are the excerpts from my video chat with this beautiful actress:
Tell me, how is your health and having battled a serious illness- are you taking extra precautions now?
I'm doing well right now. I'm feeling good. Also, I would say it hasn't been much of a shift for me because the last 2 years have been sort of a quarantine for me anyway. So it’s not too much of a change at this point, but I would have a lot of visitors coming and going then. That’s the part that I miss the most.
Above all, I'm missing my parents right now in this because I can't really meet them. But other than that, we have lots to be thankful for. I always count my blessings.
SEE THE VIDEO BELOW:
More about your parents?
They are in the high-risk group and can’t travel much, so are at their place. Once this lockdown gets over, the first thing I would do is to go and meet them.
We have seen you of late at public places, in fact I saw you voting last time in the election queue…
Yes I do travel, but not much. It still takes a little bit of planning.
My question still remains unanswered that if you are fighting an illness like cancer, you need to take some extra precautions during this COVID-19 phase. Tell us about that. ..
You have to eat healthy and take care of yourself. There are certain things that I do follow. I have been doing a couple of things which seem to have helped. When you do chemotherapy, your body goes through a lot and your immunity generally drops to zero.
But I have been through my entire treatment without any antibiotics. The fact that I went through strong chemo sessions without having to take antibiotics means my immune system was strong enough. There were small things I was doing like consuming turmeric, ginger, amla and some raw fruits-n-vegetables.
My mornings still start with a green juice, followed by hot water which cleanses the body.
I know you are fighting bravely and it brought a smile on my face when you put out that bald picture...
What you said was absolutely the fact. So, the moment you put it out, the whole world is seeing it. And let everyone smile.
Frankly, how long are you going to hide? Just get on with life, man. I felt I was getting distracted trying to hide my falling hair, so just putting it out there fully bald was more to help myself than anything else. It was quite liberating, actually.
Did you consult with Goldie before putting out the bald pic?
We were talking about it. Goldie used to, in fact, say that why are you being shy about it. He used to say I need to own it and that I look fabulous without my hair as well. Today, he tells me that ‘you should not grow your hair back, the short hair suits you very much’. My husband has been an amazing support.
What was the doctor's reaction when he saw that you've put out that bald picture?
My doctor’s didn’t really know for the longest time who I was. But when I put out that pic, somebody tried to access my record and my doctors were informed that this patient of yours is a known celeb from India. After that, they came in and said that they have increased the access to my password.
The one thing that they said- and I shall never forget that- was that 'we are glad you are putting a picture that is happy as it spreads positivity'.
To read into the doctor’s mind, it must have given him the boost and motivation that here’s a patient who is not faking it obviously and is going to be very co-operative...
You know nobody likes a whiner. It just brings everybody down around you. But if you’re smiling, it motivates them as well.
Go on..
I think when my chemos were happening, a friend of mine said she's going to film me walking around. Now, my hair had started falling around that time and I used to constantly touch my hair and do the Tattad Tattad step of Ranveer Singh- and mind you, she took a video and it was so funny!All the nurses there started cracking up. I used to think that I have lost the plot. So, I think all that saw me through- that positivity, that madness, that laughter.
But glamour being an intrinsic part of you, you can't take that way from yourself...
Yes, even as I used to wake up through my chemo sessions, I had my kaajal on. I was glamorous through it all.
What I meant: Didn't you have that fear in your mind about how much will your hair come back?
See, more than the hair, I was worried about the eyebrows and the eyelashes-.everything was gone. So of course, it was a big fear. Because you see all my life it has been about looks and I can't deny that. It was definitely a very insecure feeling, alongside. Everybody says it will come back and all that--- but you don't know if it will actually.
I was very happy when my eyelashes and eyebrows started growing back. They are not exactly how they used to be, but it's okay, at least I have some lashes because they were completely gone at one point.
Where are you going in terms of your movies? You did a bit of TV. Are you up for signing movies and maybe a TV show that again requires exhaustive hours?
I don’t know about movies or TV shows but I know one thing, that I definitely want to work. A lot of stuff is coming my way. I am looking at it. I like being in front of the camera. I like the whole creative process a lot.
I want to understand your choice of films. Which movie of your entire career would you place it on 1, 2 and 3?
Let me be very honest, I never used to see my own films. I wouldn't say 1, 2 and 3, but I would name a few movies that have been an amazing experience. Sarfarosh definitely, Zakhm, and then there was a Tamil film named Kadhilar Dhinam.
image source:-instagram/iamsonalibendre