Kashmera Shah recalls shooting multiple takes of kissing scene for Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Ajay Devgn stood up for her: ‘It was uncomfortable’

Recalling the shoot, Kashmera said, “25 years ago, kissing onscreen was a very big deal but I agreed because it was the need of the script. But unfortunately, that scene took a lot of retakes as it had to be done in an elevator and Anand was not doing it right. The shot had to be such that Anand’s angle and movement was very important but he kept on getting it wrong. Ajay and Kajol got very uncomfortable because of it and Ajay came to Bijay and said, ‘I can’t make this girl do this scene again and again. Why don’t you damn stand on your mark’. It was uncomfortable for them to make me do it so many times and hence they took a stand for me. This was a very nice gesture from their side.”

A few days later, Kashmera and Bijay were supposed to shoot for another scene where she had to slap him and this was the time when she gave it back to him. “And I gave him a tight slap. Later, he came to me and in front of everyone said ‘Don’t you know how to cheat a slap’ . I replied ‘Didn’t you know how to cheat a kiss’. That was my moment. The entire unit clapped and I had tear in my eyes,” she recalled.

She also added that Bijay threw several tantrums on the sets of the film and the “original stars were very much grounded”. As per her recollection, Bijay even asked the crew members to get his shoes on to his feet.

Actor Bijay Anand in a still from Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha.

Bijay wasn’t seen in any Hindi films after this film and he shared in another interview with the publication that this was due to his experience on Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha. He said that his voice in the film was dubbed by someone else and added that the makers did so because they wanted to make the hero look better.

“When I saw the film, they (the makers) dubbed my voice with some other voice which sounded very weak and quiet. It was very embarrassing as my voice is not like that. When I heard that, I was so hurt that this is how this industry works. I felt like I didn’t want to be a part of this industry, after which I quit the acting industry for 17 years. I didn’t have any nepotism background. I was an outsider and on the right track, but dubbing my voice just so that the hero (Ajay Devgn) looks better than I do or whatever the reason they had, left me shocked,” he said.