Sonali Bendre in conversation with Rajeev Masand

The devil whispered in her ear, ” You are not strong enough to withstand the storm” and she whispered back, ” I am the storm…”

Nothing else can better describe the past 11 months of Sonali Bendre’s life. In an exclusive tète à tète with renowned film critic Rajiv Masand, the ever-gorgeous actress, described the tumultuous past year which has been a bittersweet experience for not just her but all around her too.

Bespectacled, her newly grown in hair in a natural Pixi cut and looking ever so refreshing in her Masaba outfit, Sonali spoke to the audience with absolute candor and answered several questions in detail about her battle with the big C.

She made Rajiv feel totally comfortable even with all the ” awkward” questions like, ” Did you feel at any point that you may not be coming back home?”And even joked about how easy it is nowadays to get ready ever since she lost all her famous luxurious tresses. Her hair, which was her claim to fame, was something she did not want to hang on to because she wanted to let go of the past and embrace the new.

Not an easy step for any woman, but this is Sonali, who fought hard after her 10-hour surgery and deep scars that it left behind forever. She continued her book club which is very close to heart throughout the journey and made sure she “enjoyed” her long and expensive holiday in New York.

The one and half hour, the session with Rajiv Masand and Sonali Bendre was a super start to new beginnings with our Ficci Flo family. It was apparent that all the members thoroughly enjoyed and were visibly moved by the conversation.