Actress Sonali Bendre decision to do television initially raised eyebrows among her colleagues, but looking back, she calls it the “best thing” she ever did — a move that gave her career a fresh lease of life along with a great paycheck.

The 50-year-old, who first appeared on television in ‘Kya Masti Kya Dhoom…!’ after the success of her films ‘Hum Saath Saath Hai’ and ‘Sarfarosh’, recalled how her decision at the time made people think that she had “lost the plot”, a PTI report from Mumbai yesterday quoted her as saying.

“Everybody thought I had lost the plot because television was not the thing to do. It was like, ‘Why are they doing TV?’ But it was a great show, I loved the concept of that show, and I thought it was a fantastic paycheck,” Bendre said in an interview to PTI.

She even credited her partner at the time, and now her husband, Goldie Behl, for supporting her decision. “This (TV) is the future, television is going to become big (Goldie said). I listened to him and said, ‘Let me do it’. It was the best thing I did,” the actress said.

Bendre went on to judge reality shows like ‘Indian Idol 4’, ‘India’s Got Talent’, ‘Hindustan Ke Hunarbaaz’, ‘India’s Best Dramebaaz’, and ‘India’s Best Dancer 3’. She is currently featuring on ‘Pati Patni Aur Panga’ as a host.

In fact, according to Bendre, it was television that helped her remain relevant.

“The kids (on her first reality show) who used to see me at that time are all grown up now, and they still remember me. So, as a celebrity, your life is as long as your fans remember you.”

“I got a great lease of life. At that time, people used to say that you are doing TV, but it just gave me an amazing lease of life, which I didn’t think that’s what would happen, but it did happen,” she added.

Besides, working in television offered her the opportunity for a healthy work-life balance, which became a crucial factor since she wanted to be present for her son during his formative years.

“When I had my child, these shows were closest in my line of work. I didn’t do fiction work because my child was growing up and I wanted to be there for him,” Bendre added.

‘Pati Patni Aur Panga’ features popular celebrity couples such as Debinna Bonnerjee-Gurmeet Choudhary, Hina Khan-Rocky Jaiswal, Rubina Dilaik-Abhinav Shukla, Avika Gor-Milind Chandwani, Swara Bhasker-Fahad Ahmad, Geeta Phogat-Pawan Kumar, and Sudesh Lehri-Mamta Lehri.

The show, which premiered on Saturday on ‘Colors’ TV channel, will see celebrity couples competing against each other as they take on fun challenges.

Talking about the show, Bendre said the show is unlike anything she has done before. “You are holding the whole show together; you talk to the contestants, and more so to those who are not opening up. Besides, it’s not scripted. It is a challenge, but I’m enjoying it,” she concluded.