Soni Razdan lost work overnight after getting married to Mahesh Bhatt: ‘Everything went away’

Actress Soni Razdan, mother of Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and wife of director Mahesh Bhatt, recently spoke out about the sudden loss of her acting career after her marriage to the director in 1986. In a new interview, Soni revealed that she had been actively working in films before her marriage, but following the union, she found herself with zero acting opportunities. Soni explained that the situation felt like everything she had worked for had vanished overnight.

The director's response to her inquiry about the vanished acting work was equally blunt. Mahesh Bhatt informed his wife that industry insiders had explicitly questioned her decision to continue working as her marital status raised concerns about her suitability for a career in the film industry. Soni admitted that this perspective was alien to her and had never been part of her mindset.

She noted that during her era, many female actors chose to either delay marriage or avoid it entirely to protect their careers in the competitive world of Hindi cinema.

Soni linked her personal experience to a pervasive pattern that governed the lives of female actors for decades. According to Soni, the industry treated marriage as a career-ending event for women, compelling them to pace their lives carefully to avoid a premature exit from the profession. Nonetheless, Soni had chosen to marry in spite of the looming danger to her career, driven by her love and the need to live a fulfilling life.

She also criticized the male-dominated gaze in Hindi cinema, highlighting the skewed notions of what constitutes an attractive woman and the undue emphasis placed on physical appearance.

Highlighting the importance of real-life experiences in creating authentic performances, Soni emphasized that books could provide a theoretical understanding of emotions, but genuine feelings were crucial for a convincing portrayal on screen. She believed that a life lived fully was essential to being a good actor, drawing from personal experiences of joy, heartbreak, and pain.

Soni was determined to balance her personal life and career despite facing significant challenges and being overlooked by an industry that had deemed married women unfit for on-screen roles. Currently, Soni is part of Netflix's latest release, Shaque: Trust No One.