sona sehgal-(shruli)-interview

Riding High!

Her beauty attracts you! Her fresh innocence surprises you! Sonal Sehgal, aka Shelly Saha of Hotel Kingston is riding high not only on the small tube but is also all set to capture the big screen with the Hinglish film U Bomsi & Me! Her infectious smile and soft-spoken voice tell you here's an actress who knows what is best for her. She agrees, "Doing quality work has always been my priority and that is the reason why you will not see me in too many serials." Learn more about her.

Born in a small town Nandurbar in Maharastra, this Punjabi kudi (girl) has a set of intellectual parents. While dad is a scientist, Sonal's mom runs a school in Delhi. She reminisces, "I was brought up in Delhi. As a kid I had been a good student and active in all co-curricular activities. After my graduation (B.A English Honours) from Delhi University, I joined McKann Ericson as a trainee copywriter. And from a copywriter, I ended up assisting Pradeep Sarkar (Parineeta fame) for three long years from 1999 to 2001."

As luck would have it, Sonal ended up being in front of the camera as a model. Even before this beauty knew it, she was selling brands like Thums Up (South campaign with superstar Chiranjeevi), Godrej, Johnson & Johnson, Ariel, Rexona Deo, BPL Mots and so many more, that she has lost count today. She was then approached for music videos and ended up doing almost a dozen of them. Prominent among them were the ones for Pankaj Udhas, London singer Sahota, Ali Hyder, Jazzy B, Bali Sagoo, Harbhajan Mann and others. However, she has fond memories of her debut music video Euphoria's 'Maayi re'. She recollects with fondness, "In the year 2000, dada (Pradeep Sarkar) was directing the video and I made a 30-second appearance in the hit music video. I know, people must have hardly noticed me but I really had a lovely memory of the same. I still get nostalgic and it brings a smile to my face even five years later."

Sonal Sehgal is riding high today because Sagar Arts' Hotel Kingston has been doing just great ever since its launch. However, it was Saara Akash, where Sonal made a great impact as the beautiful terrorist Sanjana. Sonal did only 52 episodes and walked out of the serial "because honestly it was just the beginning of my television career and I didn't want to get typecast as a negative character", she explains. However, all said and done, she also made a brief appearance as Madhavi, the obsessed lover in Kasauti Zindagi Kay, once again in a negative character, until the big break came in the shape of Hotel Kingston.

"Oh!", she exclaims as she continues, "I am really thankful to the Sagars for giving me such a lovely role. I play Shelly Sahai, daughter of Benjamin Gilani, the hotelier. Shelly is an NRI, who is a total spoilt brat in the initial phase. But due to circumstances, she has to run the hotel, about which she doesn't know a thing. How Shelly grows from a girl to a woman full of responsibilities is what my role is all about. The shades, the transformation and the depth of the character are amazing. And I am really having a blast doing the show because of the fabulous production house, crew and the cast (laughs)." About the chemistry between the GM Vish and Shelly she laughs, "The initial phase was great because Shelly used to hate her General Manager Vish, for his confidence but ended up falling in love with him (smiles). We complement each other very well and it's lovely working with Amit (Vish) as we have a great time when not shooting."

U Bomsi & Me is all set for a late October release and Sonal is excited about her debut on the big screen. She enthuses, "I must say, we really had a great time doing the film. U Bomsi & Me is also Jai Raaj's directorial debut film. It's a total fun film with loads of humour in it. I play Monica, an airhostess, who's romantic in nature and is married to RJ Gautam Rode, a party animal. There are two more couples in the film that's revolves around three married couples. It was a quickie for which we had 15 days of rehearsal while it was shot in just 27 days. I'm really looking forward to its release." Sonal also got an offer from Ram Gopal Verma but is honest to confess that so far, nothing has materialised on that front. Sonal is a patient woman and is ready to wait for the right films to land on her lap. She says, "No matter what, what's destined, will come your way. So I am just enjoying my work and have left it to destiny to lead me where I belong (laughs)! After all, I never thought I'd be an actress one day!"

Since she is a noveau actress, I'm interested in knowing what she considers to be the toughest part of being an actress. She signs off saying, "Unlike other professions for a woman, acting is really physically and emotionally demanding