‘People consume news through Social Media’: Sonali Bendre

By Neeru Saluja

Actress Sonali Bendre is a woman of strength, style and grace. She started her career with modelling, entered the acting world and at the peak of her career transitioned to hosting a TV show. Now making a comeback on OTT, the actress has donned an impressive avatar as a journalist in the web series ‘Broken News’ on ZEE5.

Actress Sonali Bendre talks about her much-awaited comeback on OTT, her role in web series ‘Broken News’ on ZEE5, the importance of social media, her book club, how times have changed since she was ruling the 90s and her fight against cancer.

Directed by Vinay Waikul, The Broken News is an official adaptation of the popular British series Press.

The show, which stars Shriya Pilgaonkar, Jaideep Ahlawat and Sonali Bendre, revolves around two media houses, their opposing ideologies and how a bunch of journalists work under pressure.

Sonali Bendre talks to The Indian Down Under about journalism, her dilemma about reporting ethical journalism which she says is rather about truth. ‘It is a mirror to the society, we are all heading in a certain direction,” says Sonali, “The beauty about ‘Broken News’ is that the viewers are going to think about what goes on behind the news.”

“The moment you start thinking about it, you are going to be able to differentiate between news and opinion, and their opinion doesn’t necessarily have to be your opinion.”

When asked about social media, she says, “A lot of people consume news through social media, what we are, one is getting information but that may not be knowledge. Social media is there. It is the way you use it. I started using social media when I was going through my difficult period when I started running a Book club on it. It really helped me. Social media is an amazing tool. It helped me sustain me through my illness and start reading different types of books.”

From the 1990s to now how acting has changed, she says, “It is very different now. Lot of good changes. Some of my movies ‘Naraaz’ or ‘Zakham’ acting style is still relevant but it is different now. I had to work on it when my husband said that ‘you are going to enjoy how it is now’. The way I used to process which was not available in the nineties. I find there is new energy on sets now.The kind of people you are working with is totally different now.”

When asked about her fight with cancer and how she dealt with it, “In a nutshell, I could deal with cancer in a much better the day when I started dealing with it and stopped treating it as a fight. The day I could do that my recovery, my rehabilitation started to happen as I surrendered.”

Her advice is that ‘truth is important. Not the Sunsani, or breaking news kind of way but how true one is to oneself. Now that I have the second chance, I decided that I have to be true to myself. And I am going to be fearless”

Sonali invited all in Australia to join in her Book Club which is on Facebook.

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