Amol Palekar recalls slapping Smita Patil during a scene without her consent, she was ‘aghast’: ‘I said no to Shyam Benegal but…’

Amol Palekar recounted a disturbing incident on the sets of Bhumika where he was asked to slap co-star Smita Patil without her consent.

Amol Palekar- Smita palekar- Bhumika- 1977- Shyam benegal

Amol Palekar and Smita palekar in a still from Shyam Benegal's Bhumika.

Veteran actor Amol Palekar, who worked with some veteran film directors like Shyam Benegal, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, recently recalled the time when Shyam asked him to slap actor Smita Patil without her knowledge during a scene. Amol said that he was completely opposed to the idea of hitting her without asking her but Shyam was adamant. The incident, which has stayed with Palekar to this day, highlights the importance of consent and communication between actors during filming.

Palekar recounted the incident that happened on the set of Bhumika and shared with The Lallantop, “Shyam Benegal told me that I have to slap her (Smita Patil) without telling her. So I said, ‘No, I can’t do that.’ I refused to do anything that is not rehearsed. Your co-actor should know what you are going to do. Doing anything without their knowledge, according to me, is wrong and hence I don’t do it. ‘How do I raise my hand on a woman?’ I was shattered. I have never done it in my life and I’d never ever do it.”

Despite his reservations, Palekar was eventually persuaded to go through with the scene. However, the experience left a lasting impact on him and his co-star Smita Patil. Palekar recalled, “The shot started and Smita started acting, so at one point I held her hand and slapped her. The way Smita’s expressions changed, she couldn’t believe that I just slapped her, she was aghast. She felt humiliated and angry… the camera kept rolling, it didn’t cut. The camera was capturing all her expressions. Not just the camera, even I was just staring at her, I forgot everything else, I didn’t know how to react. Looking at her facial expressions I was feeling very uneasy.”

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The incident ultimately brought Palekar and Patil closer together, as they both broke down in tears after the scene was completed. Palekar remembered, “Shyam then said, ‘cut’ and I first went to Smita and hugged her and profusely apologised to her. I said, ‘I am very sorry Smita,’ and both of us broke down, we were crying a lot. This is what had happened to us during Bhumika.”

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