'Too Skinny For The ’90s': Sonali Bendre Reflects On Bollywood’s Beauty Standards

Actress Sonali Bendre revealed that she was considered too skinny in the 1990s, which didn't fit the beauty standards of the time.

Sonali Bendre recalls not fitting 90s bollywood beauty standards.

Source : Instagram/@iamsonalibendre

New Delhi: Celebrated for her parts in iconic films like 'Sarfarosh' and 'Hum Saath Saath Hain', Sonali Bendre has candidly talked about the difficulties she had with Bollywood's standards of beauty in the 1990s. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Sonali Bendre said that at a time when curvier, voluminous-haired women were preferred, her slim figure and straight hair made her stand out.

Sonali recalled, “Well, in the ’90s I was not really considered the IT girl, but many others were. I was a very distinct person even then. I remember when I came in, there were girls with beautiful, bouncy curls; I was a skinny, straight-haired, lanky girl. Hindi films didn’t like that."

She elaborated by saying that the industry's preferences at the time didn’t align with her slim frame and straight hair. “They wanted a slightly more curvaceous girl,” she said.

She added, “My hair is actually so straight that it was very difficult to curl, and with the amount of hair I had, it was just easier to leave it open and straight.”

The actor went on to share that producers often advised her to gain weight to be more accepted in the industry. Nevertheless, she expressed gratitude for the continued appreciation of her work from that era.

Sonali Bendre on How Her Iconic 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' Look Came to Be

In the same interview, Sonali Bendre revealed an amusing anecdote about how she got the part of Dr. Preeti in the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. The actress said that her role was initially supposed to be dressed in Western attire, according to director Sooraj Barjatya.  Nonetheless, she won him over and landed the part when she showed up to the meeting in traditional Indian garb, complete with her distinctive nose ring.

She recalled, “When I went to meet Suraj Ji for the film narration, I was in a simple white salwar kurta, silver jhumkas, and yes, my nose ring was on because I wasn’t shooting that day.”