LSN News › India

World · India Bureau

Actress Says Marriage to Bhatt Derailed Her Film Career

Actor Soni Rajdan has attributed the sudden halt in her film work to her marriage with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, citing societal expectations that discouraged married women from continuing professional careers.

LSN India · 26 September 2026

Actress Says Marriage to Bhatt Derailed Her Film Career

Soni Rajdan has opened up about how her career trajectory changed dramatically following her marriage to acclaimed filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, revealing that professional opportunities dried up after she tied the knot.

In recent statements, Rajdan explained that the transition from her pre-marriage working life to post-marriage existence was marked by a sharp decline in film assignments. She attributed this shift partly to prevailing social attitudes of the time, which questioned the necessity of married women continuing to work in the entertainment industry.

The actor noted that she faced considerable social pressure and questioning from those around her, who suggested that a married woman had no pressing need to maintain an active professional career. Such attitudes, she indicated, created an environment in which her continued participation in films became increasingly untenable.

Rajdan's account reflects broader historical patterns in Indian cinema, where marriage frequently coincided with the end of women actors' careers, often due to a combination of industry practices and social expectations rather than personal choice. Her candid reflection on this period highlights how professional aspirations of women in the entertainment field were often subordinated to conventional marital roles and societal norms.