Years Later, Biswajeet's Daughter Reacts to Her Father Forcefully Kissing Rekha: "He Should Have Taken Consent..."
Veteran actress Rekha was only 15 years old when she starred opposite actor Biswajeet Chatterjee, who was 18 years older than her, in the film Anjana Safar (later released as Do Shikaari). The film remained unreleased for decades and became widely known for a controversial kissing scene involving the two actors. According to Yasser Usman's biography Rekha: The Untold Story, a lengthy kissing sequence was filmed without Rekha being informed beforehand or asked for her consent.
It has often been claimed that director Kuljit Pal wanted a genuine shocked reaction from the young actress and therefore did not tell her about the scene in advance. Reports suggest that the incident deeply upset Rekha, who was only 15 at the time, and left her in tears.
Biswajeet's Daughter Speaks on the Controversial Scene
Years later, Biswajeet's daughter and actress Pallavi Chatterjee has addressed the controversy in a recent interview with Vickey Lalwani.
She said, "There were directors who would tell one actor about a scene but would not fully inform the other person because they wanted a particular reaction on camera. I feel that if an incident like this happened, where someone was kissing another person for several minutes in front of the entire unit, it could not have happened without the director’s approval. Perhaps the director had said, ‘This is the shot I want.’ In those days, on-screen kissing was neither common nor widely accepted."
Years later, Biswajeet's daughter and actress Pallavi Chatterjee has addressed the controversy in a recent interview with Vickey Lalwani.
She said, "There were directors who would tell one actor about a scene but would not fully inform the other person because they wanted a particular reaction on camera. I feel that if an incident like this happened, where someone was kissing another person for several minutes in front of the entire unit, it could not have happened without the director’s approval. Perhaps the director had said, ‘This is the shot I want.’ In those days, on-screen kissing was neither common nor widely accepted."
Pallavi further added, "She was very young then. If something like this happens to you without warning, what are you supposed to do? When you are young and something inappropriate is happening, you often feel awkward even about speaking up. Those times were very different. If a much bigger star was doing something like that, what could you really do?"
"My Father Should Have Taken Rekha's Consent"
Pallavi revealed that Rekha shared a warm relationship with her family and would often visit their home. According to her, that made the incident even more painful.
Pallavi revealed that Rekha shared a warm relationship with her family and would often visit their home. According to her, that made the incident even more painful.
She said, "Rekha used to come to our house and we played together as children. Our families were very close and we visited each other’s homes. Perhaps it was even more traumatic for her because there was a family connection. You think of someone as part of your extended family and then something like this happens. My father should have taken Rekha's approval."
However, she also stated that she does not believe the responsibility rested solely with her father.
Actress Defends Her Father
Speaking in defense of Biswajeet, Pallavi said, "My father worked with many women throughout his career and nothing like this was ever reported. He always had great respect for women. If a woman entered a room, he would stand up to greet her. I don’t think it was just my father involved in what happened. I personally feel someone must have told him, ‘Do this, I need this kind of footage.’ Otherwise, there have been so many successful films where nothing of this sort ever happened."
Actress Defends Her Father
Speaking in defense of Biswajeet, Pallavi said, "My father worked with many women throughout his career and nothing like this was ever reported. He always had great respect for women. If a woman entered a room, he would stand up to greet her. I don’t think it was just my father involved in what happened. I personally feel someone must have told him, ‘Do this, I need this kind of footage.’ Otherwise, there have been so many successful films where nothing of this sort ever happened."
