Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra recently refused to do a passionate scene with co-star Annu Kapoor, who plays one of her seven husbands in Vishal Bharadwaj's Saat Khoon Maaf, reports Mumbai Mirror.
Priyanka had in the past done intimate scenes with Arbaaz Khan, Arjan Bajwa and ultimately an African expatriate in Mumbai, a moral nadir that leads to her psychological breakdown in Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion.
The actress, who has donned a bikini in Dostana, kissed Ranbir Kapoor in Siddharth Anand's Anjaana Anjaani and coochie-cooed Shahid Kapoor in Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey, refused to shoot a lovemaking scene with the Antakshari host because “it was simply out of sheer respect for Annu's age, seniority and work,” as a source put it.
But the sex scene was eventually shot. Here's how: “Vishal canned their expressions of ecstasy separately. Vishal is an ace filmmaker and the scene will be portrayed in such a way that the viewer will not realise that the two actors didn't shoot for it together.”
Interestingly, Priyanka did not tell Vishal directly about her feeling of awkwardness. Her discomfort with shooting this sex scene was conveyed via assistants.
And how did Vishal react when he heard this? Our source reveals, “Vishal took it in the right spirit. He understood a female's perspective.”
Perhaps he should have called Madhur to get some tips. But to give Priyanka some credit, the scene in question, which was canned in the final schedule of the film at Coorg, was revealed to Priyanka only a few days before the shoot.
Says a source, “Saat Khoon Maaf is a film where everything was told to every actor much in advance. But it's okay, Vishal got what he wanted. All's well that ends well.”
When contacted, Annu laughed and then confirmed the story. Said Annu, “Vishal ne mujhe bola ki Priyanka sharma rahi hai. Maine usko bola toh fir scene hi kaat do na?”
Talking about Priyanka's decision to stay away from the frame, Annu said, “Frankly, it didn't even surprise me. You know what, I am a very simple and boring person. Mujhe koi farak nahin padta. Main apne kaam se kaam rakhta hoon. Main kabhi monitor pe bhi kuch check nahin karta, phir chahe voh TV serial Antakshari ho ya Saat Khoon Maaf ho.”
Asked if he could pull off the coital ecstasies and grimaces convincingly in the absence of Priyanka, Annu said, “That you'll have to see it on the screen. I am nobody to say anything on that.”
