Sonali Bendre on returning with DID Lil Masters 5: There was no guarantee, that I’d ever return

Actor Sonali Bendre is back on the judge’s seat with DID Lil Masters 5. In an exclusive chat, the actor talks about her return, and how she has still not gotten over her tryst with cancer.

Actor Sonali Bendre has been a part of several hit films in her almost three-decade-long career. Call her a stalwart and the actor giggles inadvertently. “Nobody has ever called me that,” she says, asking for the recording of the conversation so she could send it to her sisters. “They are going to laugh at it,” she quips.

Sonali Bendre on the sets of DID Lil Masters 5 (Instagram)

The actor has been away from the world of roll-sound-camera-action for almost four years after she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer in 2018 and underwent treatment in New York. That time Bendre was judging a kids-based reality show, India’s Best Dramebaaz. Ironically her comeback in front of the camera after four years is through the kids-based dance reality show DID Lil Masters 5.

“It’s a bit emotional,” she says, reasoning, “Last time it was one of these shows when I went halfway for my treatment. So the fact that wo period pass hogaya, usse aap recover karke waapis aake uss chair pe waapis baithe ho, it’s a moment. When I left the last time, there was no guarantee, that I’d ever return on that chair. Just the fact that I’m able to come back to it, is a very emotional feeling for me.”

Bendre admits sitting on the judge’s chair takes her back to those days. “Every day when I sit on that chair, I go back to those days. I don’t think I’ve gotten over it. That feeling of ‘I’m here, I’m back, life is okay and I’m here for everybody’, keeps coming back,” she elaborates.

The four years have not just been a strenuous period for Bendre but have also given her moments for introspection. Her two takeaways from that period are “being in the moment and learning to say no”. “Not worrying about the future, as plans have no guarantee. Also understanding what you can do and what you cannot. So say no to the work, the interview or anything that you feel you won’t do justice to. Don’t do things half-hearted,” she elaborates.

The 47-year-old wants to “keep learning” in life and be a part of “evolution and self-growth” hereafter. “I hope whenever my time comes I go on my feet and not lying down ill. I hope I’m working,” she adds.