Sonali Bendre recalls decision not to endorse smoking, accepts she did ad for beer product when she ‘needed money’

Actor Sonali Bendre recently recalled her decision to never endorse products related to smoking and tobacco. She said that she decided to take a ‘minor’ ad related to beer, when she needed the money. Sonali appeared in several television commercials before she made her Bollywood debut in the 1994 film Aag. (Also read: Sonali Bendre says Bollywood’s ‘chalta hai’ attitude can’t last anymore)

During the early stage of her career, Sonali endorsed a popular fairness cream brand. Later she clarified that she decided to do it because she was young and needed the money. She also had said that if given an offer now, she won’t do any ad for a fairness product again.

When asked about taking a difficult decision in life, Sonali told Filmfare that she couldn’t compromise on her ethics and values after endorsing a beer-related product. “There is a very minor ad which I had done once in my life, which was some sort of a beer thing, I think. But since then, when it comes to smoking, tobacco, and all these products, I don’t endorse them. I don’t even do political rallies or that sort of thing–this has been a very conscious decision,” she said.

Talking about the fear of getting ‘shut down’, she added that for her, those endorsements paid her bills. She added “When you say ‘shut down’, it was not anything like ‘shut down’ but for me, it was my next paycheck coming in. My rent needed to be paid and I needed the money. It was a call that I took when I needed the money, it is not a call that I have taken when I don’t need that kind of money.” While she doesn’t label it as right or wrong, she believes that one has to live with the repercussions of their choices.