Reports suggested that a man’s death by suicide in the 1990s was linked to his alleged inability to meet actor Sonali Bendre during her visit to Bhopal. Responding to these claims, the actor expressed surprise and confusion regarding the reported fan behavior. While speaking on Mid-Day’s The Bombay Film Podcast with Mayank Shekhar, Bendre shared her disbelief at the incident, raising concerns about the influence of extreme fan culture.
Expressing disbelief, Sonali reacted, questioning the accuracy of the information by asking, “Yeh sach hai? [Is it true]? How can someone…” She was further prompted about any unusual fan incidents she might have encountered, revealing instances of receiving fan mails that were suspected to contain actual blood, “There’d be fan mails. We wondered to test, if it was in actual blood. I’d be shattered, if it was. Best to appreciate, and leave it at that. How can people place humans on such a pedestal, that they’ll fall from, anyway?”
Regarding fan culture and the intense obsession towards Bollywood stars, Sonali emphasized her inability to comprehend such extreme idolization. She stated, “I couldn’t understand that kind of obsession for somebody.” She added that she is unable to understand how someone can put any human being on that kind of a pedestal. That’s because she feels that person will eventually fall off, which is why she ‘could never put somebody up on a pedestal to that extent’.”
Having begun her career as a model in her teenage years, Sonali transitioned into Bollywood after working on numerous advertisements. She gained recognition for her roles in films like Diljale(1996),Duplicate(1997), Major Saab(1998) and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000). Recently, milestones were reached as her movies Sarfarosh and Hum Saath Saath Hain celebrated their 25th anniversaries earlier this year.
Following a break due to her battle with cancer, Sonali marked her return to acting with the web series The Broken News (2022). Her most recent appearance was in the second season of the mentioned web show, signifying her ongoing dedication to her craft and connection with her audience.
She had previously opened up about her illness during an interview with Hindustan Times, “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.”
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