Sonali Bendre reveals signing amount of her first paycheck: 'I was like, this world exists?'

Sonali Bendre

Sonali Bendre was not among the starry-eyed individuals who dreamed of becoming an actor. It was complete fate that brought her to the city and put her on the path of acting. The daughter of an 'honest' central government employee, Sonali saw her parents struggle financially amid constant transfers. During her teen years, her father was transferred to Mumbai.

During her college days, Sonali was asked to walk the ramp for the first time after a girl injured her foot and the show needed a replacement. From there, Sonali got noticed by someone and was offered her first ad campaign. This led to more ad campaigns and eventually the movies. A complete outsider, Sonali found her mentors in make-up artist Micky Contractor and celebrity photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha who helped her navigate through the industry in the beginning of her career.

But it was the first paycheck and realization on the amount of money she could earn that largely influenced her choice back then. "The thing that changed for me was when I saw the contract. Whatever you give and what they said they will give was also like 'what! I can make this and that got me thinking," she told during a conversation with Mid-day's The Bombay Film Story.

She revealed that the first paycheck in the early 90s added up to a contract of Rs 25000 which was a huge sum back then. Sonali was surprised upon learning how much she could earn if she pursued a career in the show business. "So,I said, this world exists? And that's when I told my father, look at my age. I have the time. I have it on my side. I promise you, give me three years. If this doesn't work out, I will do what you're saying, but look at the amount of money. If it works out, I can use that for life."

Sonali explained that there were financial issues at home back then and she found this line of profession a way to get her family out of the situation. "If my father was not going through that kind of a struggle, and if I was not seeing how my parents were struggling and what they were feeling, I would have probably not stood up and said, I'm doing it," shared Sonali Bendre.