Kajol, in a new interview, recalled how she struggled with her first slap scene in her debut film Bekhudi.
At just 16, Kajol made her cinematic debut in Rahul Rawail’s 1992 film Bekhudi, opposite Kamal Sadanah. The rebellious love story centers on Radhika (Kajol) and Rohit (Kamal) who conceal their romance fearing her family’s disapproval, until a tragic twist threatens to tear them apart.
In one of the scenes in the film, Kajol‘s character Radhika was supposed to slap her lover. Recently, in a chat with Brut India, the actress recalled how she simply couldn’t bring herself to raise her hand on her co-star Kamal Sadanah as the act felt deeply wrong.
Kajol shared, “To slap someone completely blameless in front of you for a scene was beyond me. I could not understand it. It was just not working. I just could not slap him. I just couldn’t raise my hand.”
Kamal, she said, had been nothing but kind and a perfect gentleman on set. The idea of hurting someone so sweet and nice clashed with her values.
“It went beyond my morality, my ethics, my conscience. I liked Kamal. He was so sweet and so nice to me. A perfect gentleman. He was lovely to work with. Why would I slap him? It was so alien to me then,” said the actress who is currently gearing up for the release of JioHotstar’s The Trial Season 2- Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha.
Unable to deliver the slap, Kajol kept tapping Kamal’s face, leading to multiple retakes. That’s when director Rahul Rawail provoked her with a sharp remark. Stung by his comment, she finally delivered the take, but the aftermath was overwhelming.
Kajol revealed, “My director said I think you want to slap him. I think you are punishing him and that’s why you keep on doing this retake again and again. You want to do it. You are punishing him for something.”
She added, “And after that I was like, ‘now, you watch’. Then there was one perfect take. But after that I cried, I howled. I have apologised to Kamal. I said I am sorry because it affected me on a deep level that I have done something completely unfair with someone who totally didn’t deserve it and it was just so wrong.”
For those who ain’t aware, Saif Ali Khan was initially supposed to play the leading man in Bekhudi, but was eventually dropped from the film as the director Rahul Rawail felt he wasn’t showing sufficient interest. Two years later, Naresh Malhotra cast Saif Ali Khan and Kajol in his romantic drama Yeh Dillagi, which also starred Akshay Kumar.
