Shabana Azmi Reveals Javed Akhtar’s Reaction To Her Kissing Dharmendra In ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’
Shabana Azmi recently spoke about her husband Javed Akhtar’s reaction to her kissing scene with Dharmendra in Karan Johar’s ‘RRKPK’.
Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, which had opened to favourable reviews from critics, has been performing well at the box office and has already collected Rs 60.22 crore. The new Hindi movie stars Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan. A large section of people has been going gaga over Ranveer Singh’s super energetic performance as Rocky Randhawa, while others are hailing Alia Bhatt as Rani Chatterjee and their crackling chemistry on-screen. However, there’s a particular scene in ‘RRKPK’ which has become a talking point online.
In a scene from ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi, who feature as former lovers, share a kiss when they meet each other after years. Ever since the new Hindi movie released on Friday, the kiss between the two veteran stars has been keeping the internet abuzz.
After Dharmendra and Karan Johar addressed the kissing scene, Shabana Azmi shared her thoughts on the on-screen kiss. Shabana Azmi told Zoom in a recent interview, "I never thought it would create such a fuss! People are laughing and cheering when we do the kiss. While shooting it was never an issue. It is true that I haven't kissed much on screen before. But who wouldn't want to kiss a man as handsome as Dharmendra?"
On being asked about the reaction of her husband and lyricist Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi told Zoom, "Oh he was not bothered. But what bothered him was my rowdy behaviour. Throughout the film I was applauding, whistling, cheering and shouting. He was like, 'I don't know this woman sitting next to me.' I went insane with excitement."
Shabana Azmi, who worked with Karan Johar for the first time, praised the director's vision and said, "It's a completely new experience for me. The kind of enthusiastic messages I am getting about my role, the film is being appreciated by sections who normally look down on commercial cinema. This is the first time I've been in a Karan Johar film. The amount of subtext the normally snooty sections of Indians are reading into Karan's film is nothing short of astonishing."
Karan Johar had addressed the kiss during his conversation with film critic Anupama Chopra for one of the sessions of Film Companion. Karan Johar said, "Shabanaji Azmi is a trooper. She's a master actor. She's a baap actor as they say. There's no debate, no question. Dharam ji was like, 'Haan theek hai karna hai, fine'. It was two great veterans, performing with absolute aplomb, no questions asked. It was glorious to see them."
Dharmendra also spoke to News18 to share his thoughts about the kiss. He said, "I am hearing that Shabana and I have surprised the audience with the kissing scene, and at the same time they have even applauded it. I think people weren't expecting it and it came very suddenly which is why it created an impact.”
The iconic actor added, “When Karan narrated the scene to us, I did not get excited (laughs). We understood it and I realised that it was something that the film required and wasn’t forcefully put in and I said I will do it. Also, I believe there is no age for romance. Age is just a number and two people irrespective of age will show their love for each other by kissing.”
He further said, “Shabana and I both did not feel any kind of awkwardness while doing it as it was very aesthetically shot."
‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, also starring Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly, Aamir Bashir, Kshitee Jog and Anjali Anand, marks Karan Johar's return to the director's seat after seven years of his last film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’.
