Actress Sonali Bendre is the latest celebrity to join the league of Bollywood actors venturing into small screen fiction. The actress will be soon seen on the television show Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye which also stars TV actors Apurva Agnihotri and Harsh Chhaya.
Although Sonali is excited about the fiction show that will air from October 7, don't expect to see her on a reality show like Bigg Boss. "No. Never," she told us.
The Sarfarosh actress says that though she has been a part of various reality shows as a judge, she would not want to be on the other side of the table. "I've been a judge and don't ever want to be on the receiving end of what the judges have to say, they really shout," she said.
Talking about her upcoming show in an exclusive interview with NDTV, the 39-year-old actress said that she is quite 'nervous' about the gig. "So far what I've done on television are talent shows and judging and for the first time I'm doing fiction on Television. Here I'm Shobha, not Sonali and that's a huge difference. As an actor, I'm getting back to fiction after a very long time and I'm very nervous about the show," Sonali told us.
Revealing more about the show, Sonali said, "It's the story of a woman who is a housewife, who goes out and starts working, for some reasons. Shobha has been a housewife forever, and for her to step outside is a huge thing. And that attracted me to the show."
"As we were growing up, my mother made it very clear that her daughters are not getting married until they are independent and working. She always said that if you don't want to work later its ok, but enter into a relationship as an independent person, someone who can tend to herself. And that I feel is so important as a lot of things fall into place and there is certain amount of equality that comes into a relationship. You need to have an identity of your own," Sonali said.
The promos of Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye show Sonali as a woman full of life, who believes in seizing the moment. Her boss, Apurva Agnihotri, is the pessimistic type but he cares.
"The characters are very quirky. It is important for television to have characters that audience can identify and empathise with. In television you are going into people's home, they are not coming out of their house into a dark theatre. You are going into someone's living room, so there has to be a different way. The characters are very real and you try to make to as real as possible within that space," Sonali said.
Talking about her co-stars Apurva Agnihotri, who was last seen on Bigg Boss 7 last year, and Harsh Chhaya, the actress said, "They are very good actors, and your job becomes easy with good actors. Both Apurva and Harsh are very professional. It's always good to work with people who know their job."
The TV show also falls in the latest trend of seasonal series. Actor Anil Kapoor's TV show 24 came as a breath of fresh air in the age of decaying but undying TV dramas.
Sonali said that Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye will run for a season of six months. "The story will start and end at a certain point. It's a lovely season where you get the whole story in six months. It won't keep on going on and on. There is a conciseness to it. You are not dragging a scene. It is all concise and precise and it is there for a reason. I'm hoping that the audience is ready for this 'seasonal' change. Know the whole story and then let the characters go, bring them back later but at this point of time you let them go," she said.
"Amitabh Bachchan (in Yudh) and Anil have done it and are my seniors in it. It's a different thing. For me if it is a seasonal thing then I will give a try. If it was not a seasonal thing then I would probably not do it. Indian television is not really seasonal as far as fiction is concerned," Sonali continued.
Talking about the difference between films and television, Sonali says that the 'grammar' of TV is completely different from a film: "The grammar of television is different from that of films. Films are based on big screen and in a dark theatre. But television is a small screen inside someone's living room, so you have to grab their attention while they are having dinner or cooking or doing something else. Other than that characterisation is characterisation and acting is acting."
Sonali, who was last seen in a small role in 2013 film Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, says she has no plans to return to the silver screen. "My hands are full with work. I think after this I need a few years' break," she laughed.
