Sandhya Mridul swore off Bollywood after bitter experiences, recalls how Yash Chopra persuaded her to do Saathiya: ‘Hum achhe se rahenge'

Indian Express

a day ago

Sandhya Mridul began her career in television, making a name for herself with Mahesh Bhatt's critically acclaimed TV show Abhiman. In a recent interaction, Sandhya admitted that Mahesh Bhatt often praised her acting in front of industry folks, which led to many offers from the Hindi film industry. However, she revealed that she didn't like the way the film industry functioned, where female actors were often reduced to just a pretty face. After getting multiple offers to play shallow roles and asked to wear bikini in films, Sandhya received a surprising call from Yash Raj Films, offering her a key role in their film Saathiya.
Speaking about that moment, she said, 'I got a call saying that Yash Raj Films is trying to call me. I thought somebody is pranking me because I was a TV actor and I had not worked for three months during that time.' Recalling her first meeting with Yash Chopra, Sandhya shared, 'I met Yash ji himself and I was like why is he meeting me?'
Talking about Yash Chopra's reaction, she said, 'Chopra told me, 'Bache I love you. I love your work. I don't leave a scene of your TV show, Koshish. My wife wants to meet you. Also, she loves you, we love you.' He was lovely. He told me, 'Beta, ye picture kar le (Do this film). This film will do well.' Initially, Sandhya refused the offer and told him, 'Mereko pictures nahin karni hai' (I don't want to do films) 'because I don't understand Bollywood.' She added, 'I said this to the king of Bollywood.'
Despite the refusal, Yash Chopra's reaction was the most heartwarming. According to Sandhya, he said, 'You are a truthful person. We are not like that. Hum achhe se rahenge, hum bade pyaar se tereko rakhenge (Don't worry we are not like those people, we will keep you nicely).' She recalled how Chopra insisted she meet the director of the film and once again requested her to join the project.
After meeting Saathiya's director, Shaad Ali, Sandhya realised she shared an old connection with him, which made her feel more inclined to accept the role. However, upon watching the Tamil version of Saathiya, she found her role underwhelming. 'I came to Shaad and told him role 'it is boring'. Yash Chopra then told me, 'You do this role according to you. You will breathe life into this role, and that's why I am bringing you in.' He was too encouraging.'