Actor Sonia Balani had a small part in the recently released epic Ramayana. The actor plays Urmila, Sita’s sister and Lakshman’s wife. But while the epic gives Urmila a significant role, the film cut almost all of her sequences from the final product, giving Sonia just a minor cameo with no lines. The actor, however, isn’t too sad about it.
Sonia Balani on playing Urmila
In Valmiki’s Ramayan, Urmila is the younger daughter of Mithila’s King Janaka, sister to Sita. After Lord Rama wins Sita’s hand in the swayamvar, he expresses his wish that his brothers be also married at the same time. That is how Lakshman marries Urmila. However, when Rama is exiled by Kaikeyi, Lakshman accompanies him, leaving Urmila behind in Ayodhya for 14 years. In an interview with India Today, Sonia talked about her character’s strength. “It’s one of the biggest sacrifices that we have known about. Being a woman of today’s generation, it’s beyond my imagination. I am yet to fathom how she found that strength. I just can’t imagine anyone making such a big sacrifice, that too, right after getting married,” the actor said.