Sonalee Kulkarni is a known name in Marathi cinema. Now, the actress will make her OTT acting debut in Bestseller. The web series also stars Mithun Chakraborty, Shruti Haasan, Arjan Bajwa, Gauahar Khan and others. Directed by Mukul Abhyankar and produced by Siddharth Malhotra, it will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video from February 18. Free Press Journal caught up with Sonalee for an exclusive conversation. Excerpts:
What made you choose Bestseller as your OTT debut?
The big screen has always been my passion, and I never imagined myself on another platform, but since the last few years, we have seen how OTT has emerged. The content has evolved and gone beyond a typical Hindi Bollywood narrative that we all have grown up watching. The regional content has also gone up, and OTT content has become world-class. I have been getting a lot of offers from digital platforms, but I had my restrictions and reservations about not doing certain things.
And what are those reservations?
I think I am a little conservative. If I am not able to watch a show with my parents, then I’d rather not do it. I have been particular about this being an actor so I was waiting for the right show which has great content and I can sit and watch with my parents. Bestseller ticked all my boxes. In fact, it was the only audition that I went for. Although I am not against the screen test, this was a rare occasion. I met the casting director Kavish Sinha, and things went very smoothly. I heard the part, cast and what platform it is coming on also matters to me.
Tell us something about your role and working with the stellar cast of Bestseller?
I was the last one to come on board. Urmila Ranade is the name of my character, who is heading the cyber cell department and assisting Mithun da’s character Lokesh Pramanik in this particular case. It is a beautiful relationship that these two develop during the case. I met Mithun da straight on the sets. He is so spontaneous and believes in creating magic in the moment. He was cool, easy going and comforting on the sets.
A still from Bestseller |
You did a couple of Hindi films, but we didn’t see you much after that. Are you more comfortable with Marathi language?
I don’t go for a lot of auditions. I am pretty lazy in that sense. When I started doing Marathi cinema, I wasn’t very well versed with the language either. I come from a multicultural and multilingual background. My father was in the army, and my mother is a Punjabi. I never spoke the language or studied in school. I was considered an alien since I didn’t look like a typical Marathi heroine! I came from nowhere and got an opportunity to learn the language and the craft.
Since you forayed into OTT now with Bestseller, what would be your strategy henceforth?
I think there’s so much to choose from the OTT as there’s so much being made. So many young writers and filmmakers are coming up with new genres, which is exciting. Every actor is greedy. I want to go beyond Marathi cinema, which is also experimenting a lot of late.
