'Journalists almost mauled me!'

Nidhi Taparia

She is a regular on the sets of Goldie Behl's Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai.

Actress Sonali Bendre, when not working, is quite comfortable in the makeup room waiting for director boyfriend Goldie Behl.

When we caught up with her taking a break from her hectic schedule, the actress brushed aside the hue and cry that the media seemed to have raised on her arrest.

"This has happened to every actress sometime or the other in her career, " she stated. "And when it happens to me, the media wants to kick such a fuss about it! When the arrest happened, the journalists outside the police station almost mauled me. I can't believe that such a tiny incident was totally blown out of proportion. It even made front-page headlines!"

The actress had been arrested along with dress designer Ashali Charles Rebello and photographer Amit Shanta Kumar Ashar, for posing on the cover of a magazine in a dress, which allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of some people.

The trio was charged under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class.

They were later released on bail on a personal bond of Rs 12,000 with one surety each.

Not that the arrest has affected her spirits - Sonali seems very much her cheerful self.