Ranveer Singh, Anjali Anand were ‘so excited’ when Dharmendra-Shabana Azmi shot their kissing scene: ‘There was nothing weird about it’

Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi's kiss in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has become one of the talking points of the film.

New Delhi | August 5, 2023 06:35 PM IST

3 min read

Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi in a still from Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. (Photo: Dharmendra/Twitter)

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Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi haven’t shared the screen since the 1980s, and yet, when the duo came together for Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, they became the centre of every conversation. The love story shared between their characters and their on-screen kiss left the audience cheering for them. Now, in a recent conversation, actor Anjali Anand, who played Gayatri Randhawa in the film, opened up about how she and Ranveer Singh were “so excited” when Karan was shooting this scene.

Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Anjali said, “Me and Ranveer were like… it is happening, it is happening. We were so excited but there was no big deal about it. I think more than that, when he (Dharmendra) gets up and starts walking… nobody has realised that he is a paralysed man who is in a wheelchair and he is walking. No one has realised that twice in the film, when he sings, he is walking. That’s the magic of Karan Johar cinema.”

Anjali recalled that when Karan was shooting the scene, and the wind was blowing in the actor’s faces to create a romantic effect, she could not believe that she was in such esteemed company. Speaking about Karan’s aesthetic sense, Anjali said, “The way it was shown, it was just so beautiful. There was nothing weird about it.”

Also Read | When Dharmendra kissed Shabana: ‘Rocky aur Rani…’ scene is a blow to ageist ideas about love and intimacy

In an earlier chat with PTI, Shabana Azmi spoke about the scene and said that the audience was taken by surprise because they were not prepared for it. “You’re not prepared for it in any way at all… But I am like ‘why is this so surprising’… An actor who has a strong woman image, why is it not possible that she can also be a romantic person? It’s not like strong women don’t have any romantic bones in their body.”

She then added that the cheers and applause were all coming from the younger generation. “I think it’s the deliciousness of it that has taken people by surprise and they just adore it. It’s the younger generation that’s really doing all the clapping and cheering,” she said.

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