'Oh my god, it has been 25 years!'

'My career graph and staying relevant have happened because of the choices I have made'

- Sugandha Rawal

Celebrating 25 years of HT City brings a special sense of pride and nostalgia for actor Sonali Bendre, as two of her iconic films, Sarfarosh and Hum Saath Saath Hain, also mark their silver jubilee this year. Reflecting on the quarter-century milestone and the serendipitous alignment, Bendre marvels at the passage of time. "Oh my god, it's been 25 years... Can you imagine that I have been here for these many years?" she muses. Despite several significant life events including her "18-year-old son's transition to university", Bendre finds it puzzling that the years haven't felt longer. "It seems like 10 years ago, not 25 years," she reflects.

Recalling her roles in both iconic films, Bendre credits their transformative impact on her career. "The films put forward different sides of me," explains the actor who played Seema in John Matthew Matthan's Sarfarosh, which starred Aamir Khan and Naseeruddin Shah, and Dr Preeti Shukla Chaturvedi in Sooraj Barjatya's multi-starrer Hum Saath Saath Hain.