Why are you offering it to me?”
In an interview with Galatta India, Sonali said she was so sure the part wasn’t for her that she started suggesting replacements herself.
“When Bharat was offered to me, I thought the role didn’t suit me. So, I gave director Ali and casting director Mukesh Chhabra a long list of potential actors who would look nice in the role, asking, ‘Why are you offering it to me?'”
It wasn’t about playing a mother
Her hesitation, she made clear, had nothing to do with being cast as a mother. That’s a label many actors in the industry go out of their way to avoid. Sonali pointed to a career full of unusual roles to show it doesn’t scare her.
“I don’t have any complex about how I would play a character. I am super open about portraying any role. In my first film, Cheluvi (1992), I played a girl who can become a flowering tree. In Daayraa (1996), I played a boy with a moustache. People get scared easily when they hear that they have to play a mother’s role. But one has to keep in mind that the said mother would also be someone’s friend, sister-in-law, or wife. People remember me from Mission Kashmir (2000) as Sanjay Dutt’s wife, not simply as Hrithik Roshan’s surrogate mother.”
Her concern with Bharat was more practical. Playing the mother of an actor nearly a decade older raised a believability problem.
“So, I am not usually scared. But when it came to Bharat, I was hesitant because one should at least look the part.”
Lakshana is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist with over a decade of experience. She covers a wide range of stories—from community and health to mental health and inspiring people features.
A passionate K-pop enthusiast, she also enjoys exploring the cultural impact of music and fandoms through her writing.