Sonali Bendre says she’s nothing like Dr. Preeti from Hum Saath Saath Hain in real life, reveals how her audition look changed Sooraj Barjatya’s vision

Sonali Bendre recalls that she was initially puzzled by the styling choice of her charactrer Dr. Preeti in Hum Saath Saath Hai. She felt that the character should be in Indian clothes, as western styling will feel weird.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | May 13, 2025 07:37 PM IST

3 min read

Sonali Bendre recalls her first meeting with Sooraj Barjatya for Hum Saath Saath Hai.

Everybody remembers Sonali Bendre for her soft-spoken, sari-clad character Dr. Preeti in Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain. While the actress is grateful for the love the role continues to receive, she admits she is nothing like Dr. Preeti in real life. In a recent interview, Sonali recalled her first meeting with Sooraj Barjatya and how her personal style unexpectedly influenced the look of her character.

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Sonali said, “I remember meeting Sooraj ji. And I was at that age, where I had straight hair, thick payals under flared jeans, with crop tops. Because my nose (was) pierced, I wore a ring. So when I was not shooting, that was me. And I always wore Indian jewellery with my jeans and I’m very comfortable in Indian clothes like sarees and salwar kurta. So when I met him, I was in a white salwar kurta. I had silver jhumkas. Because I was not shooting, I had my nose ring. But they wanted me in western clothes, because the character was a doctor, college-going girl. And I had gone to hear the story and as I heard it, I just kept feeling the character should be in Indian clothes, because I don’t feel like it fit into western… the westernised clothes.”

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Sonali Bendre felt that the character came from a grounded, traditional upbringing and was puzzled by the initial styling choice. “She’s studying to be a doctor, but why does that mean she has to wear western clothes?” she wondered. “It felt off,” she said. Eventually, Sooraj Barjatya gave in but with one caveat. Sonali recalled, “But then Sooraj said, ‘Okay, I have one condition if you do that. If you wear Indian clothes, promise me you would wear this nose ring.’” She laughed and said, “Of course! I take it out every time I go for shoot so I will of course,” and kept it on.

Sonali was last seen in the ZEE5 web series The Broken News, in which she starred alongside Jaideep Ahlawat and Shriya Pilgaonkar. The series marked her digital debut and received praise for her restrained and nuanced performance.

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