Bollywood queen Madhuri Dixit can pretty much call herself a legend with a storied career and dominance over the box office. But even an A-lister like Madhuri is not immune to sexist demands by film makers.
Veteran director Tinnu Anand, who directed Madhuri Dixit in Shanakht (1989), has revealed how the actress was fired after she refused to take off her blouse for a scene. Tinnu told Radio Nasha that he had discussed the scene with Madhuri prior to the shot, and she had consented to doing it. This was the first shot of the film in which Amitabh Bachchan was suppose to be captured by villains, which is when Madhuri’s character comes out and says “Why are you attacking a man in chains when a woman is in front of you?”
“I had narrated the entire sequence to Madhuri,” said the director. “And I told her that you have to remove your blouse and for the first time, we should see you in your bra. And I am not going to hide anything behind a haystack or anything. Because you are offering yourself to help a man who is trying to help you. So it is a very important situation and I want to shoot it on the first day. She said okay.”
Tinnu recalled that on the first day of the shoot, everything was ready but Madhuri backed out from doing the scene. When the director went to visit her, the ‘Devdas’ actress said she had some reservations about the scene.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry, you have to do this scene.’ She said, ‘No, I don’t want to.’ I said, ‘Okay, pack up, say goodbye to the film. I’ll cancel my shoot.”
Afterwards, Madhuri’s secretary called up Anand and reassured him that the actress was willing to do the role. Madhuri came back five days later and completed the scene. However, afterwards the two didn’t work together on any film.
