Lara Dutta reveals a terrifying moment on the sets of Andaaz when a rogue wave pulled her under. Saved by Akshay Kumar, she later overcame her fear to be a part of Anthony D’Souza’s action-adventure film Blue.
Lara Dutta has dazzled audiences in glamorous roles, tickled them with comic timing, and held her own in action-packed sequences. But one of her most unforgettable stories is from her debut film Andaaz (2003), when the ocean almost swallowed her during a song shoot.
Speaking to Asian Television Network Canada, Lara shared that while shooting a dance scene for Andaaz, a huge wave suddenly pulled her and her co-star Akshay Kumar into the sea. Lara didn’t know how to swim.
“I went underwater, wearing leather, didn’t know how to swim, sank like a rock,” she recalled.
Akshay quickly grabbed her and pulled her back to safety. Lara went into shock and had to be rushed to the hospital. The incident left her terrified of water.
Years later, Akshay suggested Lara’s name for Blue (2009), a film full of underwater scenes. Lara refused at first — the memory of that wave was still fresh. But Akshay told her simply: learn swimming.
“At 30, he asked me to learn diving. I said mai hi pagal mili hu,” Lara laughed. But she took his advice. She learned to swim at 30, faced her fear, and agreed to be a part of the film.
Blue was one of Bollywood’s most ambitious underwater films. Lara had to shoot in open water, even with real sharks around. The risks were real. In fact, Akshay himself had a near-death accident when he hit his head on a sunken ship 150 feet underwater and started bleeding near sharks before making it back up.
The film also featured Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan. Though it didn’t perform well at the box office, it was a huge personal victory for Lara as she could overcome fear, learn something new, and turn a terrifying memory into strength.
Coming back to Andaaz, the film didn’t just mark Lara Dutta’s Bollywood debut; it also brought her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She shared the honor with co‑star Priyanka Chopra, who was stepping into films for the first time too.
