SONALI BENDRE

Unless you are aggressive, you will never become number one.

My mother-in-law thinks I'm more beautiful than all the other faces around. She keeps encouraging me to take up more work.

I tell women who have gone through cancer that healing from it requires receiving care, receiving support, letting friends and family rally around us. It is time to receive.

My whole life turned upside down once I became a mother.

I feel I should get better at my fitness regimen, but I think it's about doing it more regularly rather than expecting miracles. There are no shortcuts.

Personally, I wear a lot of my mother-in-law's chiffons and my mother's silk. But when I buy saris for myself, then they have to be understated.

There should be a sequel to 'Sarfarosh'. It was a different film.

I read anything and everything. Comfort food for my brain is fantasy fiction or science fiction.

I'm so glad that my profession helps me find a balance. I have the luxury to choose between my work and my family. Many women don't. I thank my stars for whatever I have.

I don't think telly actors are inferior to Bollywood stars in any way.

Life goes on, and one should look ahead and not backward.

Why should I limit myself or drive myself towards a woman-centric film. Sometimes, the most interesting role is not that of the protagonist.

For working mothers, creating a work-life balance is critical, as we must ensure we do not neglect any significant part of our lives - our children, our family's health, our own health and fitness, our marriage, and, of course, our careers.

I know people have always seen me in very fitted clothes because that is required and so is done, but personally, I like the deconstructed look.

The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was about figuring things out. So every time I had a thought, I would put down my conclusions and thoughts.

For a movie actor, the biggest challenge on TV is the number of close-up shots.

I am a Maharashtrian but was not brought up in Maharashtra, as my father worked in CPWD and was transferred every two years. So I have always been a gypsy. I, therefore, could not make good friends, and it still takes me a long time to form attachments.

There's a hidden Goth in me: I have a dark sense of humour; I have a dark sense of fashion.

Not many people know that I was one of the first few Indian actors to do a television show. I did the dance show 'Kya Masti Kya Dhoom' when I was at the peak of my career.

If you are agitated, children tend to think that they have done something wrong.

As it is, 'Size Zero' is not for me. I feel a woman should have a feminine figure.

My son can be as open as he wants with me, but he cannot forget I am his mother and that all will not be forgiven.

I have two full-time jobs: one of a mother and the other of an actor. Both are equally important, and that's why I'm busy 24x7.

My routine is very simple because I realised that the more complicated the exercise sessions are, the less likely I am to make it for them. They have to be simple and doable in my daily routine.

All we have is the knowledge passed on to us by our elders, experiences we inculcate and hardly negate. But to bridge the generation gap, one needs to adapt to the new while retaining the goodness of the old.