Cancer survivor Sonali Bendre gets teary-eyed as she talks about stepping out with bald head

It was really a happy moment to see Sonali Bendre coming back to India hale and hearty after completing her cancer treatment in New York. Last year, in July, she was diagnosed with a high-grade cancer. As soon as she landed in Mumbai, she got surrounded by the media who welcomed her home and showered her with love and affection. The actress was definitely overwhelmed with the love and care she received from the media and people across the country. And Sonali was teary-eyed when she spoke about it on Kareena Kapoor Khan's radio show What Women Want.

Sharing her experience of going through her tough time, Sonali admitted that it was very difficult for her to step out of her house when she had shaved her head off. She said that when she returned to India, she had thought of putting on a wig while stepping out of the airport. But she decided to walk outside with a bald head embracing her own self in front of the world without thinking what people may think about her.

"When I landed, I remember I had my wig and everything planned and I'll put it on. But by the end of the flight, I was so exhausted, and it was so awkward to be in a wheelchair. Then I said, 'I don't want to be in a wheelchair. I am tired and I don't want a wig.' Then I said, 'Just chuck it. I am not going to wear it. This is what it is and now let me just go," Sonali Bendre told Kareena Kapoor Khan on her show.

By this time, Sonali was in tears but continued to speak in a choking voice. "I didn't expect to be so much of press out there. But I knew it would be there. Then when I landed, I just walked out bald, it was hard. Because these are the people, you've seen through your work and your work has always been about your looks. But I must say, all the press, that was there, were so quiet and so gentle with me. I had not seen that side of paparazzi. It was quite surprising," she said.

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Earlier, Sonali had revealed that she spent an entire night crying when she was diagnosed with cancer, and her husband and director Goldie Behl helped her cope up with the news.

"After I spent the entire night coming to terms with it, I got up and decided now no more crying and weeping. From now on, there will be happiness. I saw the sun coming up, clicked a picture and shared it with my family and my girls, and said, 'Girls, Switch on the Sunshine'," Sonali said.

"Goldie and I are married for 16 years. And when I came to know about cancer, I realised Goldie is the most important person I care about," she added.

To this, Sussanne added: "Our kids are so mature and understanding, they were there with Ranveer (Sonali's son) all the time."

Sonali also shared an anecdote about her time in New York city with her friends when she was going through the treatment.

She said: "We decided, let's make the most of this. We spent some time in New York. We were there with kids. They were amazing. The girls (Sussanne and Gayatri) went, dropped the kids to school, and came back. Then it was just us and we really enjoyed the city. There was a little bit of chemo, surgery thrown in between but we had fun."

(With IANS Inputs)