Salman-Sonali together onscreen again

After playing a judge on the popular talent hunt India's Got Talent, the gorgeous Sonali Bendre is back on the small screen. This time, as a host on a new show called Mission Sapne. Turns out, the actress prefers television to films and is here to stay.

"Films take too long. But television shows give me enough time to spend with my son. It gives me the luxury of spending all day with him after his school hours; this is definitely more up my alley," she says talking about her latest small screen stint.

But even in television, she prefers the role of a host to that of a judge. Why so? "When you're judging a show, there's only so much you can do " you can only give your comments once the act or performance is done. Hosting on the other hand, is a lot more holistic. The experience is a lot more real and human," she says.

Mission Sapne is a show that raises funds for those in need with the help of celebrities. While Ranbir Kapoor took to the streets selling vada pavs, Salman Khan took up a role as a barber to raise money for their respective candidates. Varun Dhawan turned coolie in the bylanes of Crawford market and singer Mika Singh turned into a chaiwala in the Capital city.

Sonali is all praise for those who supported the cause despite their hectic schedules, but admits that making the concept work, amidst fans on the street, wasn't exactly easy.

She says, "When Salman and Ranbir were shooting, we had to step in and stop the shoot and even change locations to ensure that they were not mobbed. With Ranbir, the college students went hysterical. You can just imagine what happened to the girls! We were supposed to shoot with him in Pune, but he got mobbed so badly that we had to shift the location to Mumbai. It was almost like a dam of people had burst open! Something similar happened with Ram Kapoor who had become a taxi driver for a day. The moment people came to know that it was all for a good cause, they started donating whole-heartedly. He is so popular!"

Sonali was particularly impressed with the younger lot who did what it took to raise the moolah. "Right from television actor Drashti Dhami and Siddharth Malhotra to Varun Dhawan " they were all so enthusiastic and did the task with a smile on their face," she adds.

The best part about the show however, says Sonali, was when people on the streets didn't think twice before offering money to the celebrities. "Even minimum-wage workers were happy to contribute in whatever way they could. One will happily contribute if one knows that the money is firstly, going for a good cause and secondly, is confident that he or she is placing the money in the right hands. There is an innate goodness in people that this show brings out. It encourages people to pursue dreams they may have abandoned due to some reason" she says.

About the concept of the show she further elaborates, "Mission Sapne is a new and unique concept. It is definitely not something I have done or seen before at least. What's best about the show is that if offers a happy ending in each episode, unlike other tear-jerking, emotional reality shows. Besides, something concrete comes out of every episode; some real work happens. One cannot change the destiny of an entire population, but if there's a way of influencing the destiny of even five or 10 people, I think it's a job well done. As human beings, we are one drop in an ocean and if we all do our bit, it can help form another ocean. It's just a small step towards a much bigger step."