'Bollywood did not recognise me'

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="77.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="javascript:popUp(&quot1;photopop?msid=107374&type=0&quot1;)"> <img border="0" align="left" src="/cms.dll/thumb?height=140&width=140&photoID=107374" hspace="12"" /></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Click to enlarge picture</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">MUMBAI: After spending 10 years in moviedom and battling one flop film after another, Sonali Bendre is all set to break out of the shackles of mediocrity.<br /><br />"Bollywood didn''t recognise me as an actress at all.And the few films which had me in power-packed roles flopped miserably, so hardly anything substantial came my way after <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Sarfarosh</span>," says the actress who has coped with the jinxed-tag throughout her career. <br /><br />Just when things were looking down and out for the lissome lass, film-maker Amol Palekar offered her his ambitious Marathi period drama, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Anaahat</span>. By Amol''s own admission, he found a rare acting spark in Sonali and ''a vulnerability that had a magic touch of the contemporary to it''. <br /><br />"I''m glad, that at least someone felt that way. Especially since many in the industry had written me off as an actress," the Capricorn beauty observes. <br /><br />Besides the fact that the film will be a much-needed feather in her cap, it is also in Marathi. "When I signed <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Anaahat</span>, I had no idea that it would be in Marathi. But when Amol said the film would sound better in Marathi, I was <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">maha</span>thrilled," she says. <br /><br />As for her disillusionment with Hindi films, Sonali feels it is creditable enough that she could stay afloat in Bollywood for so many years, inspite of so many failures. <br /><br />"That obviously means I have something in me. Anybody else wouldn''t have been able to survive this long, because commercial success is very important in Bollywood," says the actress. <br /><br />As for Shobha De''s remark that Sonali could have gone places but was caught in the wrong clique of film personalities, she says, with a smile, "I don''t make comparisons in life. Besides, at the end of the day I want to see my face in the mirror and not compromise with anything. If that has cost me a few things, that''s fine."<br /><br />Yet, her ambition and commitment to good cinema remains. Sonali feels she''s peaking as an actress at the moment and the fact that she is happily married to Goldie Behl has added more depth to her personality. <br /><br />"Don''t ask me if my husband supports me as an actress or not. Why must he object? I married him because I was convinced about Goldie as a person," she says. </div> </div>