Sonia Rathee found acting fascinating when she visited sets of Broken But Beautiful 2

Sheetal

Stepping into the shoes of a popular actor in a popular series is not an easy task. Yet, the third season of Broken But Beautiful marks the entry of Sonia Rathee and Sidharth Shukla, and has the fans of this franchise excited about this new jodi. Sonia, who has lived in the US, calls this opportunity a manifested one.

Sonia got interested in acting when she accompanied Anuja Joshi, her brother Ankur Rathee’s fiancé, who was a part of its second season, for a photo-shoot.

She says, “I was so impressed that after moving to India, I wished a project like this to come my way. I was aware of the popularity Broken But Beautiful enjoyed. I had watched the earlier seasons and absolutely loved them.”

About her experience on the sets, she says, “Yes, I knew filling in Harleen Sethi’s shoes would not be easy, but nobody made us feel that way on the sets. I had prepped for the role, and before the nervousness could kick in, I was just on the go.”

Basking in the success of her series, she says she is yet to sit with her brother Ankur Rathee (actor) and talk about her performance. “I am my biggest critic and Ankur is the only one I can seek advice from when it comes to acting. Once, he had told me—‘Remember who you are and where you come from’, and that stuck with me. Because there are many on the sets who would tell you what you should do and how, but as an actor you have to internalise who you are and be real when approaching a scene. You have to bring out your inner-self in your performance.”

Has Sonia taken a tip or two about love and heartbreaks form this project? She says, “My character Rumi’s idea of love borders on obsession. She is like any other 20-year-old girl, feisty yet emotional. As the series progress, she figures out what love is and what it means to be loved. For me love is unconditional, which Rumi finds in the end. That emotion from episode 10 is what I took away from the series.” The song Kya Kiya Hai Tune from the series is her favourite among all other songs. She calls herself a greedy actor who would love to do a superhero flick or some action genre next.

Talking about the representation of women on OTT, she says, “There’s still a long way to go, but looking at the changes women-centric series like Bombay Begums have brought, we have come far. On our sets we had a woman director, producer and assistant directors. This trend shows how things are changing.”

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