Sandhya Mridul’s journey began on the small screen, where she rose to prominence with Mahesh Bhatt’s acclaimed television series Abhiman. In a candid conversation, she revealed that Bhatt’s habit of praising her acting in front of influential industry figures led to a wave of film offers. But the reality of the Hindi film industry didn’t sit well with her, especially the tendency to reduce female actors to mere “pretty faces.” After repeatedly being approached for superficial roles and even being asked to appear in bikinis, she unexpectedly got a call from Yash Raj Films for a pivotal role in Saathiya.“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,” she recalled. When she finally met Yash Chopra, her first thought was, “I met Yash ji himself and I was like why is he meeting me?”Chopra’s warmth took her by surprise. “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. This film will do well.’”To his astonishment, Sandhya turned him down. “Mereko pictures nahin karni hai,” she told him, explaining that she simply didn’t understand Bollywood. Laughing at the memory, she added, “I said this to the king of Bollywood.”But instead of being offended, Yash Chopra only admired her honesty. “You are a truthful person. We are not like that. Hum achhe se rahenge, hum bade pyaar se tereko rakhenge,” he assured her, persuading her to at least meet the film’s director.That meeting with Shaad Ali took an unexpected turn when Sandhya realised they shared a past connection, which made her more open to the idea. Still, after watching the Tamil original, she wasn’t impressed with the character. “I came to Shaad and told him role ‘it is boring’,” she admitted.It was Yash Chopra’s final words that sealed the deal for her. Sandhya recalled, “He 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.’ His encouragement made all the difference.”
