Rekha was ‘furious’ when a co-star kissed her on set without her consent, he claimed it was ‘important for the film’: ‘She felt betrayed’

Rekha was harassed on the set of her first Hindi film, when her co-star kissed her without consent.

New Delhi | May 17, 2025 07:05 PM IST

2 min read

Rekha was furious when she was harassed on a film set. (Photo: Express Archives)

Veteran actor Rekha has been a part of the film industry since the 1960s, when she was still a teenager. One of the first Hindi films she signed was titled Anjana Safar; it was later renamed Do Shikari, in 1969. Rekha and her family was experiencing some financial difficulty when she was made to work in Bombay (then Mumbai), and even though she was the legendary Gemini Ganesan’s daughter, this didn’t help her secure work in Hindi films. But even when she managed to find work as a leading star, she was harassed on set.

Yasser Usman’s book Rekha: The Untold Story revisits Rekha’s early days in the Hindi film industry. As per the book, actor Biswajeet, director Kuljeet Pal and cinematographer Raja Nawathe hatched a plan where Biswajeet would plant a kiss on Rekha’s lips as soon as the camera started rolling, without her consent. When the camera rolled, Biswajeet did what was planned and left Rekha shocked. Biswajeet later acknowledged that Rekha felt “betrayed and furious” when this happened, but he maintained that he wasn’t at fault. He was quoted in the book saying, “It was not for my enjoyment, but important for the film. Rekha felt betrayed and was furious.”

However, Kuljeet Pal had another story to tell as he insisted that Rekha was aware of the kissing scene and had consented to it. “Rekha was there. She said that she has no reservations against a kissing scene. I only told her that since she is doing something which Hindi film heroines don’t, it will be better if she said she absolutely did not like it. But she knew about this scene in all cases.”

ALSO READ | When Rekha recalled her complicated relationship with father Gemini Ganesan: ‘Didn’t know what the word father meant, he didn’t notice me’

Although the filming of Do Shikari started in 1969, the film did not release until 1979. Rekha made her Hindi film debut with Sawan Bhadon in 1970. She was then seen in popular films like Dharmatma, Ghar, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Mr Natwarlal across the decade.

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