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Sonali Bendre REACTS to receiving mail written in blood, fan dying after failing to meet her: ‘Couldn’t understand the obsession’
Actress Sonali Bendre has looked back at the crazy fan encounters she had during the 90s and shared that she couldn't understand the obsession some were having with just a human.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death/suicide.
Sonali Bendre has been a heartthrob of the 90s. The actress enjoyed a crazy and massive fanbase in her times and was literally everyone’s favorite actress unanimously. With massive fandom arrived the craziness as well, and to the extent that one of her fans even died by jumping off the lake after missing a chance to meet her when she was visiting Bhopal.
What did Sonali Bendre say about the craze surrounding her?
Asked about this particular incident, Sonali Bendre shared with Mid-Day's The Bombay Film Podcast, “Yeh sach hai? [Is it true?]. How can someone….” This was not it, there was more to those years when fan culture was crazily weird and literally OTT. The Sarfarosh actress added “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, it and leave it at that.”
Due to the lack of accessibility to stars, fans used to do to any extent just to come in the eyes of their idols and this made Sonali wonder how can people place humans on such a pedestal, that they’ll fall from, anyway? "I couldn't understand that kind of obsession for somebody,” she said.
How did Sonali Bendre keep herself grounded?
As someone who tasted success early in her initial years with modeling, ad films and later being the big thing in Bollywood, Sonali credits her parents for staying grounded. Talking about her upbringing, the actress recalled moving from city to city, and constantly breaking into new groups of people in several schools over the years made her used to being alone.
She detailed, “You're used to being by yourself. You're used to being in a room where people are friends, but you don't know them." According to the actress, that kind of peer pressure and wanting to be accepted can make one do a lot of things. Also, that kind of upbringing made her okay to take time, open books, read, and get to know people slowly eventually keeping her grounded.
Further in the interview, Sonali also spoke about not feeling the need to be invited to parties just for the sake of being seen. She recalled people telling her, "Aap toh dikhti nahi toh aap ke liye hum role bhul gaye." And her reaction was “I'll live with that… because I have been through it for so long since my childhood."
Sonali said she took her time to see who she could be friendly with and with whom she must keep her distance. This kind of understanding also helped her stay grounded.
Best known for films like Diljale, Duplicate, Major Saab, and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, the 49-year-old recently celebrated the silver jubilee of two of her biggest hits Sarfarosh and Hum Saath Saath Hain. In 2018, after being diagnosed with stage four metastatic cancer, Sonali took a break from showbiz.
She was treated in a New York City hospital until she became cancer-free in 2021 and returned to acting with the 2022 web show The Broken News. Last seen in the second season of the same series, Sonali also ventured into judging with Dance India Dance Li’ls Masters 5 and also appeared as a guest on some.
Today, Sonali actively advocates cancer awareness and support for cancer survivors.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is having suicidal thoughts, anxiety, going through depression, or suffering from a serious mental illness, reach out to a nearby doctor, mental health expert, or an NGO for immediate help. There are several helplines available for the same.
ALSO READ: Sonali Bendre REACTS to former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘kidnap kar lunga’ remark
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