Sonali Bendre

Biography

Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975), is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. One of the leading actresses of the 1990s, Bendre started her career as a model and marked her acting debut with Aag (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of the Year. Following several box office failures, she had her career breakthrough with the romantic action film Diljale (1996). Bendre achieved further success by featuring as the female lead in the action comedy Duplicate (1998), the action Major Saab (1998), the drama Zakhm (1998), the action thriller Sarfarosh (1999), the romantic Tamil film Kadhalar Dhinam (1999) and the highly successful family drama Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) In the following decade, Bendre's performance in the romantic drama Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000), earned her the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress. She further expanded to South Indian films with the Kannada psychological thriller Preethse (2000) and Telugu films with the romantic drama Murari (2001), for which she received Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu nomination, the action drama Indra (2002), the romantic comedy Manmadhudu (2002) and the comedy drama Shankar Dada M.B.B.S. (2004), all of which were box office successes. Her portrayal of a queen in the Marathi film Anahat (2003), was followed by a hiatus from acting. Bendre has since appeared as a judge on various reality shows including India's Got Talent and India's Best Dramebaaz. Later, Bendre starred in the television series Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye (2014) and The Broken News (2022–2024). The latter earned her a Filmfare OTT Awards nomination. Along with her acting career, Bendre is a celebrity endorser for brands and products. She is married to filmmaker Goldie Behl with whom she has a son.

== Early life and education == Sonali Bendre was born on 1 January 1975 in present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra. She has two sisters. Her father was a civil servant. She completed her schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bangalore and later completed her graduation from Podar College Matunga, Mumbai.

== Career ==

=== Modelling and early work (1994-1995) === Bendre started her career as a model and later entered the Stardust Talent Search. She made her screen debut with the 1994 film Aag, at the age of 19, playing a college student Parul opposite Govinda. For her performance, she won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year and Screen Award for Best Female Debut. In the same year, she also appeared in Naaraaz, for which she earned the Filmfare Sensational Debut Award. Bendre had three releases in 1995 with The Don opposite Mithun Chakraborty, Gaddaar and Takkar opposite Sunil Shetty. All these films turned to be box office averages. Following this, Bendre received recognition with the song "Humma Humma" from the film, Bombay, which emerged a box office success.

=== Established actress (1996–2000) ===

The year 1996 marked a turning point in Bendre's career with four film releases. She first starred opposite Sunil Shetty in two films - Rakshak and Sapoot. In Rakshak, she played a doctor, while in Sapoot, a dutiful wife. Following this, Bendre played Bijuriya, a village girl taking care of her sister's son in English Babu Desi Mem opposite Shah Rukh Khan. She played Radhika, a politician's daughter in Diljale, her last release of the year opposite Ajay Devgn. The film proved to be her breakthrough and Avinash Ramchandani noted, "Sonali Bendre is dashingly beautiful". English Babu Desi Mem became an overseas success, while Diljale became one of the year's highest grossing release. That year, she also appeared in the song "Aara Hile Chapara Hile", from Apne Dam Par. In 1997, Bendre starred in Bhai opposite Sunil Shetty, in Tarazu opposite Akshay Kumar and in Qahar opposite Sunny Deol. All these films had poor box office collections. 1998 was another successful year for Bendre, earning her commercial and critical success. She first appeared in Keemat – They Are Back opposite Saif Ali Khan, in Humse Badhkar Kaun and Angaaray opposite Nagarjuna. For Angaaray, Suparn Verma noted, "Sonali oozes sex appeal and is good in parts." She then played Lily, a gangster's girlfriend opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Duplicate, which was an average domestic success but a huge success overseas. She received Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female nomination for the film. Her next two release where opposite Ajay Devgn: Major Saab, where she played Nisha, a gangster's sister in love with an army officer. India Today found her to be "insipid". In Zakhm, she played Sonia, who with her husband is fed up with religious conflict. Anish Khanna noted that she made "an impact". Both Major Saab and Zakhm emerged among the highest grossing releases of the year. In her first release of 1999, Bendre played Seema, a police officer's lover opposite Aamir Khan in Sarfarosh. A critic from Filmfare noted, "Sonali does justice to her first real role, the only one worth talking about, that is". The film became a commercial success and earned her IIFA Award for Best Actress nomination. She then expanded to Tamil films with Kadhalar Dhinam opposite Kunal, which was a box office success. D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Sonali looks pretty and enjoys her portion in the dance and romantic sequences." She later appeared in another Tamil film Kannodu Kanbathellam opposite Arjun Sarja. Bendre then portrayed as shy doctor, Dr. Preeti in Hum Saath-Saath Hain opposite Salman Khan. The film emerged as the highest-grossing film of the year. While Anupama Chopra from India Today states, "The women mostly doll up, dance and cook", Alok Kumar opined, "Sonali don't really do much, but looks good doing whatever she does". Her year's last release came with Dahek opposite Akshaye Khanna, where she played dual roles of Sabina and Neelima, both being Hindu girls who falls in love with a Muslim boys. Bendre had five releases in 2000. She first made brief cameos in Chal Mere Bhai and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke. She then played a NRI girl Khushi in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai opposite Anil Kapoor, which was a commercial success. Her performance earned her the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress. Reviewer from Planet Bollywood opined, "Bendre turns in a charming performance as Khushi. She looks beautiful and, for once, shows a glimmer of talent." In Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain opposite Govinda, she played a village girl Saanvi. Sharmila Taliculam was appreciative of her for matching Govinda's dancing. It became a moderate success. In her final film of the year, Bendre made her Kannada film debut with Preethse, a remake of Darr, opposite Shiva Rajkumar and Upendra, where she played a college student Kiran. M D Riti of Rediff.com stated, "Bendre looked pretty but her role lacked significance." It emerged as one of the highest grossing Kannada film of the year.

=== Further success, television and hiatus (2001–2012) === In her first film of 2001, Bendre marked her Telugu film debut with Murari opposite Mahesh Babu. She played Vasundhara, an agricultural student and a critic of Sify found her to be "charming". It was a major box office success and she received Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu nomination. She next appeared in Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega opposite Saif Ali Khan. Taran Adarsh stated, "Sonali Bendre doesn't get enough scope to display histrionics." She then appeared in the song "Saajan Ke Ghar Jaana Hai" in Lajja. In her last release of the year, Bendre reunited with Ajay Devgn in Tera Mera Saath Rahen, playing Madhuri, an independent women. Priyanka Bhattacharya noted, "Sonali looks pretty but is not given much scope to act." Both Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega and Tera Mera Saath Rahen were box office bombs. Bendre went onto appear in three critically and commercially successful Telugu films in 2002. She first appeared in Indra opposite Chiranjeevi, playing Pallavi, a Governor's daughter. Reviewer from Idlebrain.com noted, "Sonali suited the role to tee and did her bit to perfection." She next appeared as Swathi in Khadgam opposite Srikanth. Later, she played a spirited assistant manager Harika opposite Nagarjuna in Manmadhudu. A critic from Sify stated, "Sonali is excellent and has played her role with conviction." Another critic stated, "The role requires Sonali to perform, not just appear as a glam doll. She takes the opportunity with zeal and does her role with ease." All these films emerged among the highest grossing Telugu films of the year, with Indra being one of the highest grossing South Indian film at that point of time.

Bendre marked her Marathi film debut with her first release of 2003, Anahat. Her portrayal of Queen Sheelavathi earned her the Star Screen Award for Best Actress – Marathi. Pankaj Upadhyaya opined, "Sonali Bendre has never looked so good, so sensual." She next appeared in Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaatha opposite Diwakar Pundir. In the Telugu film Palanati Brahmanaidu opposite Nandamuri Balakrishna, she played Sivanageshwari, an obsessive lover. Rediff.com's Vijayalaxmi found Bendre to be "good as the villain". Following this, Bendre played a modern girl Pooja in Chori Chori opposite Ajay Devgn, a box office average. Sukanya Verma noted, "Bendre is required to look both beautiful and jealous and does it admirably." Later, she played Dr. Priya, a cardiologist in Kal Ho Naa Ho alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. It emerged as the year's highest-grossing film. In her only release of 2004, Bendre played Dr. Sunitha in Shankar Dada M.B.B.S., a remake of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., opposite Chiranjeevi. It became a major commercial successful. A reviewer of Idlebrain.com noted, "Sonali Bendre is totally cool. She is the perfect choice for this role and has acted with ease.". Following an appearance in the song "Cham Cham Karta Hai", in the Marathi film Aga Bai Arrecha!'s, Bendre took a break from acting in films and shifted to television. In 2007, Bendre starred in a theatre play called Aap Ki Soniya. In 2001, Bendre made her television debut as the host for the dance show Kya Masti Kya Dhoom....!. She went onto become a talent judge for Mr & Mrs Television (2008), the reality shows Indian Idol 4 (2008–2009), India's Got Talent (2009–2012), Hindustan Ke Hunarbaaz (2012). She also hosted the 50th Filmfare Awards with Saif Ali Khan and Farida Jalal on 26 February 2005.