Akshay Kumar’s first heroine Shanthi Priya accuses him of ghosting her when she approached him for work, recalls what he told her

Actor Shanthi Priya, who worked with Akshay Kumar in the film Saugandh, said that he ghosted her when she approached him for help when she was trying to make an acting comeback.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | July 14, 2023 12:13 PM IST

4 min read

Akshay Kumar and Shanthi Priya starred in two films together.

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Actor Shanthi Priya, whose claim to fame is being Akshay Kumar‘s first on-screen heroine in the 1991 film Saugandh, said that he is a very ‘hard-working’ and ‘disciplined’ person, but also narrated a story about being ghosted by him more recently, as she was attempting a comeback. Shanthi Priya starred in over 30 films during her heyday, but gave up her acting career to focus on family. Some years ago, she decided to give acting another go, and reached out to Akshay for some leads.

Recalling her interaction with Akshay, which took place on the sets of one the film Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty, she said in an interview with Bollywood Thikana that the actor was warm, but that he later ghosted her. Shanthi Priya said that she sent numerous messages to him, but received no reply, and that her mother was so hurt, she forbid her from contacting him again. She said that the experience was ‘heartbreaking’, and left her convinced that one shouldn’t hold out hope in the film industry.

Also read | Akshay Kumar reflects on his box office flops: ‘If a film does not work, it means that it’s time for you to change’

She said, “When I met him on the Holiday set, he was the same Akshay. I told him that I want to come back, he asked me how I was doing, how my kids were doing. We had a nice half-hour conversation during his lunch break. He introduced me to Sonakshi, and told her that I was his first heroine. So, I told him I was planning to come back, and to let me know if there’s any good thing…” She said that Akshay told her that she still ‘looks the same’, but also gave her a reality check, and told her, “You know you can’t play a heroine, right?” Shanthi Priya was taken aback, and replied, “If you can play a hero, why can’t I play a heroine?” He said that women in the industry aren’t treated the same ‘after marriage’. He also asked why she isn’t trying to find work in the South, but she told him that she is based in Mumbai, and her kids are there as well.

Shanthi Priya said that meeting him for the first time was surprisingly easy, as she reached out to his secretary, who set up the appointment. But after that, she didn’t hear back from him. She said, “I learned that one shouldn’t have hope… I don’t want to hide anything, after that I got a call from his secretary for Airlift. He said sir wants your pictures, blah blah… I immediately emailed the pictures, and kept calling. They kept telling me they’ll get back to me, but they never did. Calling, no pick up, calling no pick up… The true colour came out. I messaged Akshay, no reply. Seen, no reply; seen, no reply; seen, no reply. It was horrible. And my mom has a soft corner for him. I asked her if I should still call him, she said stop.”

Shanthi Priya said that when Akshay got a new secretary, she introduced herself once again, and the secretary told her they’d ask Akshay and get back to her, but after that, even they stopped responding to her. Shanthi Priya said that it was she who agreed to be cast opposite Akshay in his first film as lead, even though he was new and she had a few films under her belt. But when it was his turn to return the favour, he didn’t come through. “You are giving everybody an opportunity, but you’ve forgotten your first heroine,” she said. Recently, Shanthi Priya was seen in the MX Player series Dharavi Bank, starring Suniel Shetty.

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