Sonali Bendre, who starred in Bollywood films with superstars like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, took a break from showbiz in 2004. The television soap opera Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye, in which she attempted a comeback in 2014, went off air a few months later. News drama streaming series The Broken News, whose second season just aired to positive reviews, has helped Sonali find her feet.
Sonali Bendre recalls husband Goldie Behl’s reaction to her cancer diagnosis
Reflecting on her journey, Sonali opened up about the challenges she faced, especially after her cancer diagnosis in 2018, which deeply affected her and her family. “It was shocking. Sometimes I wondered how this could have happened to me. I was on a reality show when this happened. We shot every week. So if you are in the public eye and suddenly disappear and then someone takes your place, there will be all sorts of discussions about it,” she said during a conversation with Shubhankar Mishra.
As she described the moment, she realized she had a problem. Sonali recalled, “I knew there was something wrong with me. When I went to the doctor we discovered it. At first I thought it might be small. As the tests progressed, we realized it wasn’t small. I could see it on the doctor’s face. When they did the PET scan, my doctor and my husband Goldie Behl’s faces were white. I saw all the color drain from their faces.”
“The technician there said it was like a Christmas tree inside. When you undergo a PET scan, the cancer cells light up, allowing doctors to see where everything is present. They said it had spread so far inside me that scanning it looked like I was staring at a Christmas tree. At first I was in denial. I tried to sleep it off. But when I woke up, nothing changed. My husband (Goldie Behl) made some quick decisions and in two days we were out of the country. I argued with him because Ranveer (her son) was not there as he was in a summer camp. I told him to slow down and give me time to organize things. At one point he got angry and told me to stop thinking about other things and focus on myself and my survival,” she said, recalling her battle with stage four cancer.
She also remembered that at the start of the fight she only had a thirty percent chance of survival and that the doctor’s announcement had made her angry. “I asked the doctor how he could say that. I kept asking how this could happen. When you deny it, you lash out at the person in front of you. Looking back, I realized that he was just telling me the truth and that nothing can change reality.”
Sonali also stressed the importance of having an honest conversation about cancer and said the huge response to her comment on social media made her aware of the stigma and prevalence of the disease. “I had to undergo such extreme chemotherapy that it was like a nuclear attack on my body. You kill everything in your body and then rebuild it,” she recalls.
She also remembered the day she underwent chemotherapy and captured the event on film.
“It was hard. I had a strong attachment to my hair. Logically, it’s not a significant loss. It’s just hair. It grows back as soon as you cut it. But emotions and vanity don’t always follow logic. My hair was for me a source of pride. “I had endorsed every hair product imaginable back then. I was known for my hair. Then suddenly it was all about to go away and I just said, ‘Let it go.’ I had to let go of that attachment,” she added added.
Also Read: BREAKING: Sarfarosh’s special screening to mark his 25th anniversary in Mumbai; Aamir Khan and Sonali Bendre grace the screening
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