Sonali Bendre
Mumbai locals are a way of life in Mumbai. Every day, Lakhs of people use locals as their mode of transport to go all over the city. It truly is the lifeline of the city. While it is the most reliable mode of transportation, women are often hesitant to use the Mumbai locals to travel alone at night due to safety concerns.
Celebrated actress Sonali Bendre recalls her experience of traveling in Mumbai local trains. She took to Instagram stories to reminisce about her college days and how her mother used to provide strict instructions for her to follow during her commute. From traveling in the ladies compartment to making sure to not travel alone after dark are some of the many things that women are told to keep in mind while commuting on a day-to-day basis.
As women across all age groups have been known to keep a mental note of safety precautions they must take, Sonali introduced "Khaki Mein Sakhi", an initiative by Mumbai Railway Police, and Coto, a social community platform for women to ensure their safety. The initiative encourages women in Mumbai to consider railway police women personnels as their âSakhi' and express their safety concerns/inappropriate experiences they face while commuting by local trains.
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The coto community, âKhaki Mein Sakhi' will serve as an online platform for women's voices to be heard and address various issues such as fear of traveling at odd hours of the day, sexual harassment, and hesitancy of commuting via âgeneral' compartment of the train amongst others.
On the work front, Sonali Bendre, who served as the judge on the dance reality show, 'India's Best Dancer 3', shared that Govinda brought out the performer in her. Sonali and Govinda have worked together in âJis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai' and the episode witnessed their reunion as they take a stroll down memory lane by performing on the song âPrem Jaal Main'.
On reuniting with her co-star, Govinda, Sonali reflected on her Bollywood journey, sharing, "My career began alongside Govinda, and I didn't know the first thing about dancing. In my debut film, I had to dance alongside him, and it was his unwavering support that brought out the performer in me."