#WhereAreThey: People who were five when Tum Bin came, tell me today they loved it, says Sandali Sinha

With Tum Bin, actor Sandali Sinha became a star overnight, but she soon decided to settle down. She disappeared from films after 2007 and now, she talks to us about were she is now and what kept her busy.

Sandali Sinha won a lot of hearts with her debut film, Tum Bin (2001). But the actor soon stepped away from limelight after a couple of projects. Looking back, she has no qualms about her decision. Currently running a pattiserie and spa along with her husband Kiran Salaskar, in Mumbai, she fondly remembers how everything in her journey happened without any struggle.

Actor Sandali Sinha started her career with Tum Bin (2001).

“It all was natural, being in the entertainment industry. I started off as a model, worked in TV for a year, then starred i music videos with Anubhav (Sinha, filmmaker) and his wife Ratna. When they were making their debut film, everything just fell into place. It wasn’t really a struggle and I wasn’t looking out to become an actor,” she tells us.

However, having stayed away from the camera for many years, Sinha would like to believe that being out of sight hasn’t really proved to be out of mind in her case.

“I have younger people who must have been two, three or five when Tum Bin released. They message me saying, ‘We really liked what you did’, and I say ‘Listen, how old were you then?’ There is such a reaction from the younger generation, which is lovely to see,” she quips.

While many newcomers want to capitalise on a hit, Sinha, 48 was clearly not one of them. However, she admits that today, actors are more aware of all these dynamics.

“They’re recognised more, approached more. Back then, it wasn’t so much in the public eye, whatever experiences used to happen with us... they were mostly personal. It was great, I enjoyed every moment. Sometimes, what happens is your head swells up after a hit film, it didn’t happen to us. It was very organic,” she explains.

That being said, Sinha confesses that personal reasons also played a factor that kept her away from taking up more acting work.

“I’m from Delhi, so I kept going back there, my family needed me. I did sign a couple of projects in that much time. I got married fairly soon within three years (after making my debut), met my husband, we decided to settle down and that was it. There wasn’t any planning put into it, the film naturally happened. Same way, life unfolded naturally after that,” shares Sinha, describing her as someone who goes with the flow and “let all good things come to me”.

After her marriage, she wanted to focus more on her family life as she believes she’s not someone who can multi-task. In fact, she feels happy recalling that nobody from the film industry dissuaded her from tying the knot. It was a perception in the ‘90s that the career of a female actor was over after she got married.

“I guess getting married would’ve affected the way public looks at you. But now, their opinion of a married woman being romanced by somebody else, is changing. Earlier, it was different. Audiences didn’t like to see somebody who belongs to somebody, do all that. They were very traditional, but it’s different now. I didn’t exit because of that. Maybe I still haven’t exited!,” exclaims the actor, who embraced motherhood in 2005, and as she puts it, “when life unfolded, it unfolded really fast.”