MUMBAI — Kajol, widely regarded as one of Bollywood’s most powerful and fearless actresses, has opened up about a deeply emotional and challenging experience from her early career. In an interview with Brut India, she revealed that during the shooting of her 1992 debut film, Bekhudi, a simple scene requiring her to slap her co-star Kamal Sadanah left her in tears.
At just 16 years old, the young actress found herself unable to perform the action. “To slap someone completely blameless in front of you for a scene was beyond me,” she said. “I could not understand it. It was just not working. I just could not slap him. I just couldn’t raise my hand.”
Kajol explained that her hesitation stemmed from a personal connection she had formed with her co-star. “It went beyond my morality, my ethics, my conscience. I liked Kamal. He was so sweet and so nice to me. A perfect gentleman. He was lovely to work with. Why would I slap him? It was so alien to me then.”
Her initial attempts resulted in light taps, forcing numerous retakes. This led director Rahul Rawail to provoke her, suggesting she was deliberately punishing Sadanah. “My director said I think you want to slap him. I think you are punishing him and that’s why you keep on doing this retake again and again. You want to do it. You are punishing him for something,” she recalled him saying.
The director’s words angered her, and she finally delivered a perfect take. However, the emotional toll was immediate. “But after that I cried, I howled,” she confessed. The experience affected her so profoundly that she apologized to Kamal, telling him she was sorry for doing something “completely unfair with someone who totally didn’t deserve it.”
Looking back at her career, which began at a very young age, Kajol expressed gratitude for the audience’s continued support. She acknowledged that she has been “one of the lucky ones” to have grown up in the public eye while being accepted for her authentic self.
Fans can look forward to seeing Kajol back on screen in the upcoming JioHotstar series, The Trial Season 2 – Pyaar Kaanoon Dhokha, where she will reprise her role as the lawyer Noyonika Sengupta.