Neelam Kothari breaks no-kissing onscreen rule: Things have changed now, when I was doing films, kiss was a big thing
Actor Neelam Kothari talks about breaking her no kissing on-screen rule by kissing her husband Sameer Soni on-screen on Made In Heaven 2.
It was on reality TV series, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives when actor Neelam Kothari first mentioned that no matter when she makes her acting comeback and whether it’s on OTT or big screen, one thing she will never do is kiss on-screen. However, things seem to have changed now. The actor took many by surprise with her recent outing, Made In Heaven 2 where she has a lip-lock scene, and she reveals that it was her director Zoya Akhtar’s idea.
“Zoya said, ‘I know you don’t kiss, and you’re apprehensive about it, but there’s a kissing scene in the episode.’ My antennas instantly went up and I said, ‘Oh, my God, no. That’s not going to happen.’ She said, ‘Calm down, you will be kissing your own husband,’ after which I was a bit convinced,” shares Kothari, who kissed husband, actor Samir Soni, though they weren’t cast as a couple in the said episode.
At this point, Kothari mentions that she thought it was a “very clever and brilliant casting” to take her husband for that role. “Because if it was anyone else other than Samir, I don’t know if I would have been able to do justice to that scene. Firstly, coming back to acting after so many years, and then kissing as well... I don’t think I’d have been comfortable in the first place with any other actor,” admits the actor, adding that she was floored by all the comments she received. “People said, ‘You guys looked great,’ so it just worked out perfect. Even though he wasn’t my husband in the show, we needed to have that chemistry because we are a couple in real life,” quips the 53-year-old.
Asked what made her have a change of heart and reconsider her decision, and Kothari tells that it’s important to move with changing times. A popular names in the 90s with films such as Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) and Sauda (1995), she explains, “A lot has changed now [in terms of what is accepted onscreen]. When I was doing movies, kissing on screen was a very big thing. And, back in the 80s and 90s, for me to do this was out of the question. Times have changed, and more so since it was with my husband, so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.”
Kothari quit acting long ago and started her diamond jewellery business. Now, making a comeback in the entertainment industry after 18 years, she reflects on how the web medium has proved to be a blessing for several artiste who are returning after a sabbatical of sorts.
“I’m not going to lie, but after Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives, I feel everything has opened up, be it my jewellery business, acting work... in every aspect. Many opportunities have come my way. It is like a second innings for me. When I had actually gotten comfortable with my space where I was doing business and nothing else, OTT just opened up a lot of avenues for me,” she states, calling the current era a golden period for female actors.
“There hasn’t been a better time for women with so many stories revolving around them. There hasn’t been a better time than today because women are also playing the central character in so many shows and movies, which is amazing,” notes Kothari.
That being said, she confesses that she’d always be a fan of the 80s and 90s era. “Somewhere I am still that girl... I’m stuck in that time. I feel that there’s no other time period like the 80s and 90s. So, if you ask me to compare today’s times with that era, I’d say both are very different. When I was doing movies, it was just a different scenario. We used to an eight to nine hour shift, so working for 12-14 hours a day now was all very new to me,” she ends.
