Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with '' Aag'' (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face of the Year.

Early life

Bendre was born on 1 January 1975 in present-day

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in a Maharashtrian family. She has 2 sisters. Her father was a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. She studied at

Ramnarain Ruia College Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College is a college affiliated to the University of Mumbai, in Matunga, Mumbai, India. It was established in June 1937. The University of Mumbai granted autonomous status to Ramnarain Ruia College in year 2017. It co ...

, Mumbai. She studied in

Kendriya Vidyalaya The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of central government schools in India that are instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,248 schools in India, and three abroad in Mo ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Personal life

Bendre married filmmaker

Goldie Behl Goldie Behl is an Indian filmmaker and entrepreneur belonging to the List_of_Hindi_film_families#Behl_family, Behl family of Hindi films. He is married to Sonali Bendre. Career As student of Mayo College, Behl trained within the Mumbai Film I ...

in 2002, they have one child . On 4 July 2018, Bendre announced she has been diagnosed with a metastatic cancer and was undergoing treatment in a New York City hospital.

Career

Modelling and film debut (1994-1995)

Bendre was a model before entering the ''Star Dust Talent Search''. Her first major role was in '' Aag'' (1994) at the age of 19. For this, she won the

Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year The Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut (previously known as Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year) is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films to recognise a performance by a female actor in their deb ...

and

Star Screen Awards The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...

for Most Promising Newcomer. In 1994, she also appeared in '' Naaraaz'', for which she was awarded Filmfare's Sensational Debut award. In 1995, she appeared in ''

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

'' in the song

Humma Humma Antha Arabic Kadaloram () is a 1995 Indian Tamil language song composed by A. R. Rahman for the romantic drama film ''Bombay'' (1995) by Mani Ratnam. It was remade by Tanishk Bagchi & Badshah as "The Humma Song" (also known as "Ek Ho Gaye Hu ...

Breakthrough , success and establishment (1996-2003)

In 1996, she starred in '' Rakshak'', ''

English Babu Desi Mem ''English Babu Desi Mem'' () is a 1996 Hindi-language romantic comedy film, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Sonali Bendre. It is loosely based on the American romantic comedy ''It Started in Naples'' (1960). The rights to this film are now owned by ...

'', ''

Diljale ''Diljale'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film directed by Harry Baweja, with screenplay by Karan Razdan. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Madhoo and Sonali Bendre along with Parmeet Sethi, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Am ...

'', '' Apne Dam Par'' and '' Sapoot''. In the same year, she welcomed

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

on his arrival in India in a traditional Marathi

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...

and applied tilak on his forehead. In 1997 and 1998, Bendre starred in '' Bhai'', '' Tarazu'', '' Qahar'', '' Keemat'', ''

Humse Badhkar Kaun ''Humse Badhkar Kaun'' is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Deepak Anand and produced by Shyam Bajaj. It stars Sunil Shetty, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre and Deepti Bhatnagar in pivotal roles. Cast * Sunil Shetty... Bhola / ...

'', ''

Major Saab ''Major Saab'' is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Naveen Nischol, Ajay Devgn, Sonali Bendre, Nafisa Ali and Ashish Vidhyarthi. Plot The plot concerns playboy Virendra Pratap Singh aka Vir. A clause in the ...

'', '' Angaaray'' and '' Zakhm''. She was seen opposite

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood ...

in '' Duplicate''. In 1999, Bendre starred in two Tamil films: ''

Kadhalar Dhinam ''Kadhalar Dhinam'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romance film written and directed by Kathir. It is based on a love relationship which begins through an internet chatroom and takes a turn after the protagonist has second thoughts about th ...

'' and ''

Kannodu Kanbathellam ''Kannodu Kanbathellam'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film written and directed by Prabhu Solomon in his directorial debut. The film has Arjun and Sonali Bendre, while Suchindra, Ruchita Prasad, Manivannan, Crazy Mohan ...

''. Bendre also starred in '' Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United'', '' Dahek'' and ''

Sarfarosh ''Sarfarosh'' () is a 1999 Indian action drama film written, produced and directed by John Matthew Matthan and starring Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi. John started working on ''Sarfarosh'' in 1992. Seven years w ...

'' as well. In 2000, Bendre made a brief cameo in ''Chal Mere Bhai'' and ''Dhai Akshar Prem Ke''. She later appeared in '' Hamaara Dil Aapke Paas Hai.'' Bendre won a

Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress The Screen Award for Best Actress is one of the Screen Awards of merit presented annually by a distinguished panel of judges from the Indian "Bollywood" film industry, to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a S ...

and got nominated for Planet - Bollywood People's Choice Awards (Best Supporting Actress) and Best Supporting Actress. Then, Bendre starred in '' Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain''. In the same year, she made her debut in Kannada with the movie ''

Preethse ''Preethse'' () is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language psychological thriller film starring Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra and Sonali Bendre. The film was directed by D Rajendra Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film major part was shot in Aust ...

'', a remake of '' Darr''. In 2002, Bendre starred in three successful Telugu films: ''

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

'', ''

Khadgam ''Khadgam'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Krishna Vamsi and produced by Sunkara Madhu Murali under Karthikeya Movies. It features Srikanth, Ravi Teja, Prakash Raj, Sonali Bendre, Sangeetha Krish and Kim Shar ...

'' and ''

Manmadhudu ''Manmadhudu'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Vijaya Bhaskar from a story written by Trivikram Srinivas. Produced by Nagarjuna on Annapurna Studios, the film stars Nagarjuna, Sonali Bendre and Anshu, w ...

''. In 2003, Bendre made her Marathi debut with '' Anahat'', for which she got nominated for

Best Actress in Marathi. In 2004 she starred in ''

Shankar Dada MBBS ''Shankar Dada M.B.B.S.'' is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Jayanth C. Paranjee. A remake of the Hindi film '' Munna Bhai M.B.B.S'' (2003), the film stars Chiranjeevi, Sonali Bendre, Srikanth, Girish Karnad, and ...

'' and made a special appearance in ''

Aga Bai Arrecha! ''Aga Bai Arrechha!'' () is a Marathi comedy drama film by director Kedar Shinde loosely based on the Hollywood film ''What Women Want''. It was released in 2004. The film highlights the life and the problems of a common man living in a metro ...

''. In addition to her acting, she was also recognised as a dancer through films such as ''Gaddar,'' ''Sapoot,'' ''Bombay,'' ''Lajja'' and ''Major Saab''. She took a break after this. In 2007, Bendre starred in a play called ''Aap Ki Soniya''.

Bollywood comeback (2013-present)

In 2012, Bendre returned to acting in '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!''. Her part was described by the director

Milan Luthria Milan Luthria is an Indian film director who works in Hindi films. He is best known as the director of Ajay Devgan ''Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' (2010). He is the nephew of producer and director Mahesh Bhatt. Personal life Milan is the son o ...

: "Sonali's character is called Mumtaz. The name spells enigma and is very crucial to the plot of the film. The character doesn't fit into the usual mould of a mother or a sister or bhabhi but has an identity of its own. That is what makes it special. And that's why Sonali agreed to be a part of the film."

Television career (2001-present)

In 2001, Bendre hosted the television dance show ''Kya Masti Kya Dhoom....!'' and featured as a talent judge for Mr & Mrs Television, the reality shows ''Indian Idol 4'', ''

India's Got Talent India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi language talent show series and is part of the '' Got Talent franchise''. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle. The show aired on Colors TV till season 8; since season 9 the show is ...

'', '' Hindustan Ke Hunarbaaz'' and ''

India's Best Dramebaaz ''India's Best Dramebaaz'' is a talent-search Indian reality television show on Zee TV which has children between the ages of 4–15 years as the participants. The show is produced by the Essel Productions. Concept Unlike music and dance shows ...

''. She also hosted the 50th Filmfare Awards with

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ...

and

Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...

on 26 February 2005. She narrated the TV Show '' Mission Sapne'' on

Colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

in 2014. Sonali made her television acting debut with the Star Life OK's television series '' Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh''. She played Shobha Sachdev. She will next be seen in '' DID Li'ls Masters Season 5'' in 2022.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendre, Sonali 1975 births Living people 20th-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian soap opera actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Marathi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Hindi television Female models from Mumbai Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Marathi people Kendriya Vidyalaya alumni Indian Hindus Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners