Sonali Bendre Recalls Gossip About Having Secret Babies
Says She Was A ‘Pan-India Star’ Before The Term Was Even Coined

Sonali Bendre said that news has always been biased, but that earlier, there weren’t as many outlets for misinformation to be spread so easily. Citing the example of how, back in the day, people were convinced that whatever scandalous gossip they read about stars was true, the actor said that voyeurism has always existed.
In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Sonali was asked about unethical journalism, and whether she feels it is more prevalent today. She said, I wouldn’t say today, I think it was always there. It’s just that today, everybody is a journalist. Everybody has a mobile phone with a camera, and they can voice their opinion on social media… When you’re in the public eye, people are very quick to jump to conclusions, and they like reading negative stories about celebrities. There is a voyeuristic side to society. The only difference is that earlier, there used to be three or four outlets, now there are 400.
Asked if she feels the line between gossip and hard news has been blurred, she added, They took (gossip) very seriously. They were convinced we were getting married, having babies, hiding the children… They were very convinced about all that. She added, Our industry has always been a soft target.
Sonali Bendre made her acting debut in 1994, and has appeared in films across languages over the years. In the same interview, she described herself as a pan-India star. Claiming that she has never in her life been appreciated for her performances, she said, I was very successful in Hindi, I will say categorically, because I’ve done that many movies where I can sit back today and say that I was very successful in Hindi. I was very successful in Telugu, Tamil, Maratha, all sorts. So, today you talk about pan-India stars, I think I was one.