Pankaj Parashar who directed Mere Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin recalled how Sridevi was ‘annoyed’ when her co-star Akshay Kumar took 36 takes for a scene.
Akshay Kumar has established himself as one of the biggest superstars in Bollywood with his illustrious career spanning over three decades. But when he was a newbie in the industry, the actor too went through his share of struggles while facing the camera.
Speaking about his leading ladies in films, Akshay worked with late actress Sridevi in only one film- Pankaj Parashar’s Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin. When the film went on floors in 1994, Sridevi was already a bonafide superstar while Akshay was relatively new in the industry.
In a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, the film’s director Pankaj Parashar recalled how Akshay Kumar would panic and flub his dialogues due to his nervousness about working with an established star like Sridevi.
The filmmaker recalled an incident where the ‘Khiladi’ actor took 36 takes for a courtroom scene which made Sridevi ‘impatient’.
Pankaj said, “He used to panic a lot. She came and told me, ‘Make him (Akshay) rehearse yaar. He’s already on his 36th take.’ That happened because I refused to call it a shot. It was a courtroom scene and had a long dialogue. If I split it, that would break an actor’s confidence. I told him to do it as long as it becomes ok. Sridevi was sitting right there. When he finally did it, everyone clapped. That gives an actor a sense of confidence.”
Further sharing his experience of his then-rookie Akshay, he added, “He was a simple and nice person. There was humour in him since then. He would get up at 5 in the morning and wake me up too. Then he would take me to hilltops and do yoga. He would show me positions (asanas), encouraging me as well to do them. He had so much energy.”
The director also mentioned that Akshay gained significant exposure from the film, and even bagged the Star & Style magazine cover story with his co-star Sridevi. Unfortunately, the release of Meri Biwi Ka Jawab was delayed by ten years, and the film finally hit the big screens in 2004 where it sank without a trace.
