Lara Dutta says she bashed up a man who pinched her during Andaaz promotions, Akshay Kumar came to his rescue

In a new interview, Lara Dutta recalled an incident at Chandni Chowk, Delhi during the promotions of her debut film Andaaz, where she was pinched by a man.

Lara Dutta, actor and former Miss Universe, has always been someone who's given it back to those who are unfair to her. In an interview with Hautterfly, she recalled how even during the promotions of her debut film Andaaz, back in 2003, she bashed up a man in the crowd who pinched her. (Also Read: Lara Dutta says she has no interest in playing characters younger than her actual age unlike some male actors)

Lara Dutta starred opposite Akshay Kumar in her 2003 debut film, Andaaz

Lara recalls incident

“I've faced a lot of eve-teasing incidents of course, and I've also talked about them. During the music release of my debut film Andaaz, Priyanka (Chopra), Akshay (Kumar), and I went to Rhythm House at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. I was wearing a sari. As we were trying to get into Rhythm House, a huge crowd had erupted since Miss World (Priyanka) and Miss Universe were coming together on screen for the first time, and there was Akshay Kumar. So someone pinched me. I realised something's wrong, and probably due to my army background training, I pulled him out and he fell down on the road. But then I bashed him up so badly, in a sari. Akshay got very worried, and he pulled me away from him, and said, ‘What are you doing? You’re an actor now. You can't be doing all this' (Laughs),” recalled Lara.

Upcoming projects

In her new series Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, Lara portrays the role of a power broker, delving into the intricacies of modern warfare and geopolitical dynamics. Directed by Santosh Singh, the series unravels untold stories behind a major defensive operation, shedding light on the amalgamation of traditional and contemporary warfare tactics.

The series boasts a talented ensemble cast including Jimmy Shergill, Ashutosh Rana and Ashish Vidyarthi. Apart from Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond, Lara Dutta has an exciting line-up of projects in the pipeline, including Welcome To The Jungle, Suryast, and Ramayana. She will reunite with her first co-star Akshay in Welcome Back, and will reportedly play Kaikeyi, King Dasharatha's manipulative wife, in Nitesh Tiwari's adaptation of the epic, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Arun Govil.