Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre has been telling her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity meeting Michael Jackson.
She was asked to welcome the King of Pop when he arrived in India for his “HIStory World Tour” in 1996.
At the time, Bendre was joined by politician Raj Thackeray who organised a grand welcome in Mumbai.
The actress was dressed in a traditional nine-yard saree and performed a customany Indian ritual, applying a tilak to Michael’s forehead and performing an aarti, when he stepped off the plane at Bombay Airport.
She revealed that the idea was initiated by Raj Thackeray’s wife, Sharmila Thackeray, who had a personal connection with her family.
She recalled that she only had one condition before agreeing to participate:
“I was like, okay, but then I want great tickets for the show and all of that with my friends. So I did it because I was getting these tickets to enter where I could take my friends and go to the show. My sister, sister’s friends and all of that. We had this great seating. That’s what I was so excited about when I did it.”
