For Sonali Kulkarni, Hyderabad has become more than the backdrop to her latest film. Nearly two years into her journey with The Paradise, the actor is learning Telugu, finding comfort in pappu and discovering a new sense of belonging in an industry that has welcomed her warmly. As she makes her Telugu debut in Srikanth Odela’s film alongside Nani, Sonali reflects on matching the intensity of the team, the enduring legacy of Dil Chahta Hai and the many characters she is still eager to inhabit.

The Paradise schedule has left Sonali little time to explore Hyderabad, but the experience has nevertheless given her a strong sense of belonging. “The amount of affection and warmth I keep getting from the Telugu industry — I am overwhelmed,” she says. “The little world I have experienced here feels like paradise, literally.”

Food, however, has offered its own introduction to the city. “I am dying to have some double ka meetha! Earlier, I kept calling it shahi tukda and people here just wouldn’t understand what I was talking about!” she laughs.

On set, it is the pappu that has become her comfort food. “I don’t eat much rice, but I’ve been allowing myself a little indulgence. Maybe twice a week, I’ll have some rice with pappu. It’s become my little comfort food during the shoot.”

Sonali says she was surprised when she was approached for The Paradise, particularly because the team saw her beyond the image created by films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Taxi No. 9211: Nau Do Gyarah and Mission Kashmir.

“When I heard the story, I was all ears. The story has drama and emotions. It’s super special. I just wanted to be part of that story. The intensity Nani and Mohan Babu sir bring to a scene, the passion Raghav brings, and the innocence and beauty Kayadu brings — for me, it was absolutely demanding and challenging to match that energy everywhere,” she says.

Twenty-five years after Dil Chahta Hai, Sonali still finds the milestone difficult to process. Looking back, she remembers the film as “a huge gang of friends making something beautiful” rather than a project anyone expected to become a cultural touchstone. “Dil Chahta Hai has given me my identity. Back then, nobody knew that it was going to create such history or records,” she says.

Its influence, she adds, continues to travel across generations. “My daughter watched it last year. She loved it. She was just 12 years old when she watched it. I am so happy that she liked it,” she shares.

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There’s so much I want to explore as an actor. I feel like I’m entering a very exciting phase of my career. I would love to play an athlete on screen because sport has always been a very real part of my life

- Sonali Kulkarni