Anjana Sukhani:

Actor Anjana Sukhani, who appeared in Nikkhil Advani’s multi-starrer film Salaam-E-Ishq recently shared in an interview that she had a horrible experience on the sets of the film. Anjana said that Nikkhil was “mean and harsh” to her, and shared that she was made to perform a kissing scene with Anil Kapoor without any prior warning.

 Anjana said that she was not given any time to process this demand mentally, and those around her probably assumed that she would not say no as she was a newcomer. Anjana said that she wanted to cry, and did not feel like she had the power to say no, so she went along.

In a chat with Bollywood Hungama, Anjana said that when one is a beginner, others tend to think that they can get away with treating them badly because they won’t be held accountable. When asked if star kids were also treated in a similar fashion, Anjana brought up the time when she was ambushed with a kissing scene. The kiss was to be shot in a night club-like environment, and Anjana learnt about it just before she walked on set. “I was not told about the kiss, right till the end, until we were walking on the set to do the scene, I was not told. This wouldn’t happen with a star kid, right?”

When the interviewer asked why Anjana did not question its absence in the script, she said, “I don’t think I was in a position to. I was nervous, overwhelmed, I didn’t even have anybody around me to even have a chat about it with anyone. I was just told that this is what you have to do.”

Anjana said that kissing scenes could be a part of the script, but it was only fair to give a heads-up to the talent involved so they can prepare themselves mentally. “I understand as an actor, yes, of course, if a script demands, you have to be open about…

 if a scene is demanding that there will be a kiss, it’s fair enough. I am saying, at least inform. Mentally, I need to be prepared in my head. At the end of the day, this is still some kind of intimacy and I think that was… I think I have carried that for a very long time,” she said, and added, “This is taking for granted that she is new, so she will do anything. She won’t say no.”

When asked how she reacted in that moment, Anjana said that she “wanted to cry.” “Even if I knew half an hour, one hour before that ‘this is what we are setting up to do, so just be prepared’. If you don’t know and it comes as a shock to you, then you are like… okay. ‘I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t have any friend on set,” she said and pointed out that this was the “unfair treatment” that would never be shown towards a “nepo kid.”

Anjana said that she never confronted Nikkhil about this, and still carries some “bitterness” about the incident. When asked what might have happened had she said no, Anjana said that there is a possibility that she would have been thrown out of the film. “What if I was asked to leave the film? I am just assuming. What if he would have told me, this scene is important and if you don’t do it then leave. Then what do I do?”

Anjana said that one should not presume that just because someone is new, they would be down for anything. “I am just saying that don’t presume already that I would be okay with it, and even if I will be okay with it, give me time to process it and that was not given and I feel that’s unfair because they wouldn’t do that with a star kid. You could get away with me because I have no backing,” she said.

Read More : 

Salman Khan recalls near-death experience 45 minutes of turbulence in flight

Salman Khan recalls near-death experience 45 minutes of turbulence in flight