Asha Parekh reveals Jeetendra, Dharmendra wouldn’t speak to her on film shoots: ‘Shot khatam hote hi…’

Mumbai Feb 25 Veteran Bollywood actor Asha Parekh recently said that her male co-actors would not talk to her on film sets, because they might have been ‘scared’ of her. The actor also recalled how both Jeetendra and Dharmendra were wary of interacting with her and narrated anecdotes about her experience working with them on films.

At the ABP Ideas Of India 2023 summit, the Teesri Manzil actor recalled how she and Jeetendra didn’t talk to each other on the set of their first film together until they had to shoot for the scenes that featured both of them. Jeetendra and Asha Parekh worked together on films such as Naya Raasta (1970), Caravan (1971), Udhar Ka Sindur (1975), and others. Parekh shared, “I remember the first film I was doing with Jeetendra, I would give my shot and go out and then Jeetendra will come and give his shot. When he used to leave, I used to come for my shot. This happened quite a few times. But then when we had to take shots which had both of us. So we started talking a little bit and then it became okay.”

She also recalled her time on the set of the 1966 film Aaye Din Bahar Ke, in which she shared the screen with the He-Man of Bollywood, Dharmendra. “When I was shooting with Dharmendra ji for the first time for Aaye Din Bahar Ke, as soon as the shot used to get over, we would go in different directions,” Parekh narrated.

So, one day, while they were going to Darjeeling to shoot a sequence, producer Om Prakash told Parekh that he was quite tense. “I asked him why. So, he said, ‘both of you go separate ways after the shot, how will you do the romantic scenes?’,” shared the actor. She then assured him that they will get the job done. However, Om Prakash insisted that Parekh talks to Dharmendra to relieve his stress.

When the interviewer asked why her male co-actors were frightened of her, she replied, “Shayad meri shakal aisi thi ki log darte the merese (Maybe my face was scary). They used to get frightened. They didn’t come to talk to me.” In an earlier interview, the veteran actor had also revealed that her mother was quite strict, which is why her male co-stars stayed away from her.