Sonam, leading Bollywood actress of the 1980s and 1990s, plans to make a comeback to films after three decades. A Yash Chopra discovery, Sonam made her entry into the showbiz world with the multi-starrer actioner Vijay back in 1988. Her bikini scene from the film with Rishi Kapoor was much talked about. A year later she went on to become a household name for her song “Oye Oye” alongside Naseeruddin Shah in the film Tridev. Though it catapulted her career to fame, Sonam left the industry after tying the knot with director Rajiv Rai.
In a recent interaction with ETimes, Sonam opened up about her early acting days, her reason for quitting acting, and what prompted her to join again. She revealed moving back to Mumbai almost five years ago, but it was a personal choice to keep herself out of the limelight. Though she wanted to make her comeback three years ago, it was the outbreak of the pandemic that kept her plans on the back burner. While commenting about the reason for her hiatus, the actress said, “I quit films at a very young age as I got married and then, had to leave India for personal reasons.”
Seemingly, Sonam and Rajiv Rai moved abroad along with their son, after an attempt on her husband’s life by gunmen, who were allegedly linked to the underworld. The duo first move to Los Angeles and then to Switzerland for over two decades. However, with time their marriage deteriorated and they got legally divorced back in 2016. “I really don’t know what was going on in my mind at that time. I wanted to have a family. I think I was too young to realize the ramifications. I was only seventeen-and-half then. I was too naive,” she said of her married life.
She also travelled down memory lane to recall the peak of her acting career. “The industry was very supportive of me. They made me feel very important and happy. I have no big regrets, no big complaints,” she continued.
But Sonam is of the belief that no two heroines can be friends. However, the actress clarified that she did not have any ‘acrimonious equation’ with any heroine. She reportedly wants to call her comeback a ‘second inning.’ In the past, three decades, she enjoyed globe-trotting and being lost away from the public eye, “As my Instagram handle says (Sonam went on Instagram, only 5/6 days ago), I was lost and I am now found again.” She wishes to meet and work with new people. The only fact that she regrets is not keeping in touch with the industry.
During the same interaction, Sonam revealed that she owes her career to the late actor Rishi Kapoor as he was the one who introduced her to Yash Chopra. “Rishi Kapoor was a gem. I owe my career to him, he was the one who had introduced me to Yash Chopra,” she said.
It was during the time of her marriage, that Sonam rejected multiple movies alongside prominent personalities including Lootere opposite Sunny Deol and Baaghi with Salman Khan. Looking back in time, the actress admits she should have nodded yes to many projects. Now, she has plans to work with directors like Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Neeraj Pandey to name a few. In addition to this, she is also willing to explore the OTT space.
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